Morbid
by Xymena Falling
Summary: An idyllic mansion in the middle of nowhere. Of course it needs an excessively dangerous ghost, who just happens to enjoy killing people, and targeting mostly Mai, amongst others . And so SPR's latest case begins...
1. Chapter 1

Morbid

Part 1

A scream ripped through the silence, tearing it to shreds. The scream stopped as quickly as it had started.

A young woman cowered in fear. There were several cuts on her arms and face, the blood trickling down. One of the cuts was fresh - she had just gained it a few milliseconds ago. It started to bleed, the fresh pain feeling like a stab wound. Her eyes were wide open in raw panic. The clothes she wore, although must have been beautiful when new, were now scuffed and torn, with marks standing out on the cloth from blood, grime and dust.

The object of her fear was advancing, eyeing her weak points, judging where to attack next. It grinned, causing the woman to whimper.

Another cut appeared on the woman's skin. This one was deeper than the rest, and the pain intensified. She started to scream again, but was cut off.

Her limp body fell to the floor, her dead eyes staring blankly. Blood seeped through her clothes from the hole in her body.

It didn't leave then. It wasn't satisfied with her life taken.

Her body was compressed by some force, the blood gushing out of the wound. That was the problem with dead people. They never bled. Such a pity. And yet, it needed them dead.

Her face was paler, made so by her death and the loss of blood. Eventually the flow of blood trickled down. It smirked, finally satisfied. Her limp form was flung away, landing in a crumpled heap a few meters away. It licked its lips at the anticipation. Slowly, it lowered its hands into the pool.

The trick was not to waste it. Blood was more precious than water. Like sweets, you had to take your time, to savour it, to feel it, to _enjoy_ it. That was the trick.

It giggled, an un-human sound, coating itself in the red liquid, lapping it up like an over-sized puppy.

* * *

**I know, I know, new story already. Don't worry, we'll manage. This came about by accident actually, when Cass got bored and decided to unleash her creativity on the word thingy on msn (?) I'm not sure either. **

**Anyway, this is what she came up with, and I quite like it, though I've decided it's a bit morbid. Voila, it was named. I'm skills like that. **

**Please review! Tell us what you think! XD  
**


	2. Chapter 2

Morbid, Part 2

Mai stared up the house, the monitor forgotten in her hands.

"Whoo-hoo." Bou-san waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth calling."

"Sorry…"

"It is impressive." Monk agreed. They took in the old mansion surrounded by woods.

"Stop slacking off." Naru walked past them, completely oblivious to the building in front of them. Sighing Mai and Monk followed him. Mai stepped over the threshold, and that was when she first felt it. A growing feeling in the bottom of her gut, telling her that it probably wouldn't be very sensible to enter the house, let alone stay a few days there. It made her feel slightly nauseous.

"Are you okay?" Monk asked, as Mai had stopped with one foot in the air, a strange look on her face. He would've laughed, were it not for the fact that she had turned quite pale. She blinked and snapped out of it, laughing nervously in a bid to shake away the uneasy feeling.

"I'm fine."

He gave her a concerned look, but didn't say anything. They dumped their load in their soon-to-be-base. It was almost cleared out, though some random junk remained. SPR would just have to put up with people moving around base for another couple of hours.

Mai stretched. Her back and arms were starting to ache. She could swear the equipment weighed more this time, though it was carefully packed into the same boxes as usual.

"If it's too much Mai-chan, you can just leave it to us." Monk ruffled her hair, laughing at her disgruntled expression.

"Everything needs to be sorted." Naru shrugged. Mai's shoulders fell. Brilliant. Sometimes she wished she was sent with Masako… then again they'd never get anything done. By now Ayako and Masako were probably almost done.

"Another one here…" Masako surveyed the room. Ayako quickly noted it down, with the temperature next to it. She glared at the piece of paper. They'd almost finished the page, and there had been something in almost every room whether it was an unusual temperature or some spirit. Though from what Masako said they all seemed to be harmless.

She left the clipboard on the desk in base, before sitting on the floor.

"Isn't there anything to sit on?" She complained, looking at the room with distaste.

"They haven't finished moving things yet. At least we've got the table." Mai said, struggling to move a monitor to the shelves she had set up. All by herself, she was quite proud of this. "Are you going to help or what?" She asked.

Ayako inspected her perfect nails. "I guess we don't have much of a choice." She sighed. Masako turned her head away.

"That's everything." Monk and Yasuhara came in carrying the last boxes. Together they set up what they could of base.

"Ahh, Mai, a cup of tea would be nice. Please?" Bou-san said, joining Ayako on the floor. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Oww. That was uncalled for!" Monk complained, glaring at Ayako and rubbing his head.

"Stop treating her as a servant."

"I don't see you hitting Naru all the time!"

"That's different."

"How is it any different?"

Mai sighed and left them to squabble. She wandered back downstairs and into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Shirai Soh there.

Shirai Soh was the one who had entered the SPR office about a week ago. Mai hadn't personally been there when he'd come – she'd been at school – but whatever was happening at his house, it had to be interesting for Naru to take the case.

He looked up when she entered. "Do you want help with anything?" He asked, not unkindly.

"Um, is it okay if I make tea regularly?" She asked.

"Yes. Sure." And with that he left, leaving her to find out where everything was all by herself. It took her a full 10 minutes to find tea.

When she was done she took the cup up to base, where Ayako and Bou-san had finished their fight and were currently in the process of ignoring each other. Mai handed the steaming cup to Monk, who accepted it with a smug look on his face. Ayako snorted.

"You shouldn't have actually got him tea." She said haughtily, refusing to even glance in Bou-san's direction.

"Well, he did say please…" Mai said.

"This is good tea." Bou-san butted in. "All that practise making Naru-bou's tea is improving your tea skills."

Ayako permitted herself to send an absolutely evil glare at him, but he was busy drinking the tea and didn't notice. Mai decided that it would be in everyone's interest if she changed the subject to something less… dangerous.

"When's John getting here?" She asked, plonking down on the table, because there were no chairs and it was easier than sitting on the floor.

"Tomorrow I think. Or the day after that."

"Oh."

The pregnant silence hung in the air. Lin and Naru were somewhere else , doing something work related, Masako probably felt that she couldn't lower herself to have a decent conversation with Mai, Ayako and Bou-san were ignoring each other and probably it would only take a single word to set them off again, and Yasuhara was being unusually quiet. It was not a recipe for a room full of chatting individuals.

It stayed that way for several minutes.

"I'm going for a walk." Mai announced, getting up from the table. Yasuhara suddenly seemed to brighten up.

"I'll come too!" He said, and before Mai could even think any words of resistance, let alone utter them, she was dragged out of the room by Yasuhara. They both stayed silent until they were in the corridor and out of earshot of base.

"God, the atmosphere in there is almost suffocating. And the fact that it's mid-summer isn't exactly helping." He said.

Mai nodded in agreement. They went outside.

"Can we walk in the woods?" Mai asked. It looked a lot cooler in there. Yasuhara shrugged.

"If you want to. It would probably be good to see what's around the house."

Yasuhara and Mai talked about school, and complained about teachers and homework.

"It's odd." Mai said.

"What is?"

"It's completely silent."

They both stopped and listened for a few moments.

"You're right. That is unusual for a forest of this size."

No birds sang, no animals rustled in the undergrowth.

"Why do you think it's silent?"

The forest was also eerily still – Yasuhara and Mai were the only things moving. Admittedly, it was a windless day, but it still gave Mai the creeps. They continued walking.

"Maybe we should-" Mai's sentence was suddenly cut off as she tripped and slid down a slope she hadn't noticed, landing in a messy heap at the bottom.

"Are you okay?" Yasuhara called, walking down.

"I'm fine." She mumbled. Yasuhara burst out laughing. She got up and glared at him.

"Sorry, but the look on your face… it was priceless!"

She didn't say anything, but glared at him until he stopped laughing. He looked her up and down.

"Shouldn't you, er, sort out your appearance? If Naru-chan sees you like that he'd probably lock you in your room for a day."

She looked down at herself. What Yasuhara said was probably true- she looked like she had been dragged through a bush backwards. Streaks of dirt ran up her clothes, legs and arms, her hair was an utter mess and she had a gathered a few stray twigs which had decided to make a home in her hair.

Yasuhara plucked the twigs out. "I can't believe you couldn't see the fact that the ground went down."

"Shut up." She mumbled.

Her gaze shifted sideways and down, to forest floor, where something had caught her eye. She sidestepped around Yasuhara and made her way to a rather innocent looking bush.

"Mai?"

She didn't answer, and moved the bush as far as its roots would allow. Her eyes widened.

"Mai?" He peered over her shoulder. "It's probably the handiwork of a cat or something." He said, looking down at the small pile of little animal bones.

"I don't think so. Look at that." She pointed to a skeleton of something that could be one of a cat.

"Maybe it's a cannibal cat." Yasuhara said with not much conviction in his voice.

She gave him a look which said 'are you serious?' He shifted uncomfortably.

"If it makes you feel better we'll tell Naru-chan when we next see him. Okay?" She nodded. "Let's go."

They got up from squatting and made their way out of the woods and back into the house. Yasuhara went back to base while Mai went to her room to sort out her appearance.

Masako glared at Yasuhara when he entered base. She hadn't enjoyed being left with Ayako and Monk.

"You took ages." Bou-san said from his position on the floor, where'd he stretched out.

"Mai fell over. And we found some bones."

"Bones?" Bou-san sat up in a speed that would make an athlete jealous.

"Of some animals. Not human bones. It's probably nothing, but it made Mai uneasy so we're going to tell Naru when we next see him."

Bou-san resumed his original position. "I think I'm going to take a nap. Like what they do in Spain."

"You mean when all the shops close and everyone goes home because it's too hot?"

"Yeah. That."

"I think that happens at midday. Not about 4pm."

Bou-san shrugged, an odd sight, seeing as he was lying down on the floor.

Ayako twitched her nose. "Lazy." She muttered quietly, but everyone heard it. Bou-san snorted.

"Says you. Now shut up. I'm trying to sleep."

"Wouldn't it be better to do it in your room?"

"Good point, but I can't be bothered to get up."

"Where's Mai?" Ayako asked Yasuhara, a twinge of annoyance still in her voice.

"In her room. Like I said, she fell over." Yasuhara said nonchalantly. Lin and Naru walked in quietly talking.

"Where's Mai?" Naru asked. Yasuhara twitched.

"This is like listening to a broken record. She's in her room!"

Naru glared at him, almost as though he was defying Yasuhara to use that tone of voice with him again.

* * *

Mai studied her reflection in the mirror. She looked presentable, even by Naru's standards (whatever Naru's standards were). Time to leave for the suddenly awkward base, or he'd tell her off for wasting time. She sighed.

She quietly shut the door behind her, and turned around. Shirai Soh was just in front of her. She jumped.

"You almost gave me a heart attack."

He gave her an odd look. Oops, she probably wasn't advertising SPR that well, if that's what she got scared by.

"Er, I was wondering if you had any pets…?" She asked meekly.

"No." He paused. "We did have a couple of cats, about four gerbils and a goldfish. Why?"

"Nothing. Just wondering." Mai said brightly. Those small bones… What kind of ghost repeatedly kills small animals? She shuddered. No, just because there were bones it didn't necessarily mean the ghost had killed them. The cat could have eaten the others, and something ate the cat. She slapped herself.

"That's the kind of thinking Naru calls you an idiot for. Cats don't get eaten." She told herself off, slapping her forehead.

"What?" Yasuhara gave her a strange look. Oh… she had wandered into base without realising. Now they all thought, well who knew what they thought? She blushed out of embarrassment. She suddenly gave Yasuhara a sharp look, to say 'Have you told Naru yet?'

He shook his head.

"Um, Naru…" She started.

"Hm?"

"Well, earlier Yasuhara and I were walking in the woods, and, um, we found some bones…" Seeing his look, she quickly added "Not human bones! Bones of small animals, and, um, we think it was a cat. And then I asked Shirai-san he said that they'd had some pets – cats, gerbils and a goldfish, and I was thinking, what if the bones were the bones of the pets and they were killed by the ghost? I mean, not many things eat cats…" She paused for a moment, thinking. "Except for maybe lions…?" The look Naru was giving her slightly unnerved her.

Naru turned back to his file. Base was silent.

"Do you think I could be right?" She meekly asked eventually.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Most of the pets disappeared and were never found. They found the corpses of a few. In some cases there wasn't much of the corpse left to be found."

* * *

**Not much to say in the authours note this time.**

**Please review! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

Morbid

Part 3

Mai frowned. How did Naru always manage to know what she had only just found out? It made her feel so useless. It wasn't that she didn't try to help. Damn Naru. And now, of course, he had sent her to make tea. Mai shook her head at the injustice of it. Stupid, tea loving, arrogant, egotistical, narcissistic jerk. Is that all she was good for? Making tea? Well, she would show him. She was capable of much more than that. She felt so unappreciated.

Humph. The question was what to do.

"Ouch!" Well, not walking into the wall would be a good start. Next to her Masako giggled behind her kimono sleeve. Mai scowled. And why had she had to go with Masako? Just because everyone thought Naru liked her, Masako was giving her evils all the time. Anyway, it wasn't like he liked Mai. She sighed.

She grumpily made the tea, giving the kettle glares all the time.

When she returned to base Naru had already sent off almost everybody to do a task, so there was only Naru, Mai, Lin and Masako in base. Masako and Mai shared one awkward look. Well, this was going to be fun. Two silent workaholics and two girls who really didn't get on with each other stuck together in a room.

After what seemed like eternity to Mai, but in reality was only about half an hour, Naru opened his mouth to speak.

"Mai, could you show me the bones?"

Even though the distance between Mai and Masako was about a meter, Mai still felt her bristle in silent anger.

"What about me?" Masako managed to ask, evidently trying to be sweet.

"Stay here with Lin." He gave Masako a hard glare. Mai almost skipped out of base, relieved to free of Masako, even if it did mean going into a creepy forest and looking for some bones. It wasn't that she hated Masako, but Masako seriously disliked her, and that made things uncomfortable.

Mai led Naru into the woods, trying to remember which way she and Yasuhara had gone. There were no paths. She looked around, but there were no markers and to her all the trees looked the same. Great. 'Cause all she needed now was to get lost in a creepy wood with a collection of skeletons and her usually silent boss. Actually… maybe it wouldn't be sooo bad… She blushed ad shook her head. Naru gave her a look.

"Er, that way." She said, praying that she was right.

"That goes back to the house Mai." Naru said. "You don't know where you went." It wasn't a question, more of a statement. Mai examined her feet. "We'll go this way." He led them forwards, towards the heart of the wood.

"Naru…" Mai said quietly.

"What?"

"It's at a slope." Naru nodded. "But I don't think it's that way." Mai said nervously. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Mai, you don't even know where we are."

Mai blushed. "I do!" She protested. Naru didn't even bother answering. Mai glared at his back. Somehow even that managed to look smug. Eventually they came to a steep slope. Mai glanced sideways. It was so frickin' long!

"Hurry up." Naru called from the bottom of the slope. Sometimes she swore he could teleport. She sighed. She started walking carefully, then, in typical Mai-ness, she lost her balance, her arms cartwheeled, and she lost her footing.

Naru tried to suppress a smile. He did, after all, have a reputation to up hold. And smiling was definitely not part of it.

"How can this happen twice in one day!" Mai whined. "It's my favourite skirt too!"

"You've got mud on your face." Naru pointed out. Mai blushed. She felt like hitting her head on a nearby tree in defeat. Life was totally against her today.

"Where?" She managed. Naru stroked his cheek. Mai viciously rubbed at her face, cursing anything she could think of. Naru yet again had to fight his mouth, which seemed determined to get the better of him.

"Left or right?" He asked.

"Right!" Mai blurted out. Naru nodded and stared walking towards the left. It took her a moment to realise that he was walking the opposite way on purpose. "Jerk." She muttered under her breath, but she followed him anyway.

They skirted the bottom of the slope, occasionally detouring because of large brambly bushes. After a while of walking in silence Mai tugged Naru's sleeve.

"What?"

"Er, Naru, it's getting dark…" (They're in a mountainous area, alright?)

Naru smirked. Smirking was allowed. "I know."

"So, don't you think we should go back?" She asked nervously.

"Why, are you scared?" Mai paused for a moment. They were in a wood, which was silent, which was creepy enough, but then you had to add in the decreasing amount of light and the fact that they were looking for bones. In short… she was terrified.

"No." Mai gave him a bug-eyed look. Yet again Naru found his mouth twitching. What was with it today?

"Weren't you ever taught not to lie?"

"Weren't you ever taught some manners?" Mai countered. Haha! Touché.

"Yes."

Mai's shoulder's drooped. That was not how the game worked. She sighed. The light was leaving the woods alarmingly quickly. She drew closer to Naru, while fearfully looking around her.

"Oof." Suddenly she was sprawled on the ground again. Today was _really_ not her day. She gave up, and wilted into the ground. Naru turned around, this time trying not to laugh. Why was he suddenly behaving so oddly? He never usually had this problem.

The laughter died in his throat.

"Mai, you might want to get up." He stared.

"No, I really don't. This way I won't trip _again_." She muttered.

"Seriously, get up."

"Whhyy?" She moaned. She raised her head to stare at him with the most angelic eyes she could muster. Suddenly angelic eyes were out of the question. They widened in shock.

Her scream echoed round the woods.

* * *

"Wow, it gets dark around here early." Monk said, admiring the sun sink behind a mountain, bathing the sky in pink with streaks of orange. It was beautiful, to say the least.

"It's so pretty."Masako murmured appreciatively.

"Hey, where's Mai and Naru?" Yasuhara suddenly asked. They had been so preoccupied with first breaking up the fight between Monk and Ayako and then the sunset that they had completely forgotten they weren't back yet.

"Probably watching the sunset, knowing Mai." Ayako said.

"Aww, that's so romantic." Monk snickered. Naru and romantic, surely a paradox?

"They could be in danger…" Yasuhara said.

"Naru's with her, they'll be fine."

An ear-splitting scream rang through the woods and house.

"Mai!" Monk jumped round immediately. They ran from the room, wondering what on earth could have happened.

"Where are they?"

"The woods…"

"We'll never find them!" Ayako groaned. She stopped, trying to think…

* * *

Mai scrambled backwards. She had stopped screaming, but the echo washed over them. She stood up and stumbled towards Naru, practically sobbing. She buried her face in his shirt.

Naru instinctively wrapped his arms around her. She was so warm, so small, so fragile, he couldn't help himself, he wanted to protect her. But for once there was nothing he could do.

They stood there for neither knew how long, until Mai came to her senses and realised that she had just given Naru a soaking. She jumped back, horrified and embarrassed in equal measure, and of course, blushing wildly. Naru smirked, and as she had retreated to a safe distance, moved forward to examine the body. He frowned.

"It can't have been here long – it's only just started to decay. And it hasn't been eaten at all by anything." He said aloud, noting the unusual lack of flies and other corpse-eating bugs.

Mai was breathing heavily – she felt like she was going to vomit, and Naru's observations weren't exactly helping. He straightened up.

"We'll need to call the police." He turned around, just as Mai fell to the ground.

* * *

Mai slowly opened her eyes. She was lying down on something warm and comfy, and didn't want to get up. She stared straight up, and slowly noticed the face staring down at her which was swimming into focus.

Monk and Mai stared at each other for a long moment.

"About time Jou-chan!" Monk exploded. "You really had us worried for a moment. No, no don't get up."

"Stop fussing over her. She's young. Just because you're old…" Yasuhara elbowed Monk out of the way.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ old."

"Well…"

"Are you feeling alright?" John asked Mai.

"Yeah… I'm a bit hungry though."Mai wrinkled her nose cutely. "Why? How long was I out for?" She asked.

"About two hours." Monk said, trying not to show that he was worried.

"What?" Mai sprang up. She been unconscious for two whole hours? She sank back down, clutching her forehead.

"What is it?" Monk asked immediately.

"Headache." She muttered.

"Here…" Ayako barged through, carrying a glass of water.

"Thanks." Mai drank greedily, before putting the cold glass against her hot brow. She curled up on the sofa, before closing her eyes and falling asleep. She slept for a long time.

Eventually her eyes opened again. Her ears strained for the sound that had sifted through her levels of sleep. There it was. A little girl's laughter. More of a giggle.

Mai rubbed her eyes. The base was dark now, and there was no one there. It must have been really late, because neither Naru nor Lin were there.

Giggle.

Mai's head whipped around. It was coming from the corridor. Mai got up, and followed the sound. She followed it down the corridor and towards the stairs. Up, up, up she went, until there were no more stairs. It was coming from a room at the end. Mai cautiously moved forwards, and opened the door.

Nothing. She stepped into the room. It was only then she noticed the ladder in the corner, leading up to the roof.

Giggle.

"Hello?" Mai called. Nothing replied. She put her left foot on the bottom rung.

Giggle.

Mai paused. "What's your name?" She asked. "I'm Mai."

Mai.

Mai paused. She swore she had just heard something say her name, but it seemed to have come from her brain. Fortifying herself, she climbed up the ladder.

The attic was old, dusty and full of junk. The bare floor boards were covered in dust, stained fragile sheets covered ancient pieces of furniture. Mai stared around her. Moonlight filtered through the dirt smeared, grimy panes of glass in the window. She moved through the jungle of stools, broken toys, here and there a tattered painting, in the distance an old piano had had the cloth pulled of it. It lay folded around the base. The keys were yellowing, the wood intricately painted. Mai ran her fingers over it.

Giggle.

She turned around. A little girl was kneeling on the floor, in front of a giant dolls house. Mai crept closer.

"Hello?" She asked, but the little girl ignored her. Mai peered over her shoulder. She froze. In the little girl's hands a little doll was being walked around the house. There was a cluster of dolls sitting in a room on the left.

Mai's blood chilled. She moved closer trying to get a better look.

A miniature, perfect version of Lin was sitting by black boxes in one corner. Leant against the wall next to him was a figure in a black top and trousers. Naru. And there on the sofa she was lying down, covered by a scrap of cloth that looked like a blanket.

She didn't move for a long moment, her brain trying to catch up with what she had seen. Her stomach was flipping. She looked down at the child. Its upturned face was watching her intently. Mai stared at her completely blank, featureless head.

She shrieked, backing away. She tripped over her feet, landing heavily. She cried out.

* * *

**New chappie :) actually I just finished writing this. I must stop, I'm supposed to be doing drama and art hw. oops XD  
i kind of creeped myself out :( tried to watch the orphanage the other day, great film btw, but i couldn't open the box! it had a weird catch thingy on it :( it was upseting. it's by the guy who did pan's lanyrinth. it was really good too! but it was a bit violent.**

**sorry, i'll stop rambling. please review! xxxx**


	4. Chapter 4

Morbid, Part 4

Naru sat in his chair, reading his file. However his thoughts kept wondering over to the girl in the sofa next to him. She had been asleep for a while now. It must be her way of coping with shock.

Mai sat up almost impossibly fast, her breaths shallow and rapid.

"Mai?" She blinked several times before looking round her, matching the voice with the figure of Naru. From his position in the corner Lin looked curiously at her. She looked down at the blanket that still covered her legs. It was exactly the same as the little scrap of cloth that had covered her doll self, the only difference that this blanket was a lot bigger.

She stared at Naru, her eyes still wide. Although she hadn't seen where the dolls of everyone else had been, she knew that in real life, they'd be in exactly the same place.

"Did you have a dream?" Naru coaxed. Slowly she nodded. They stared at each other for a second, Naru waiting for Mai to continue, and Mai's brain catching up.

"I woke up in base, and no-one was in it, and I could hear a child giggling, so I got up and followed the sound. I followed it to the attic, and, uh, there was a load of really old stuff. And then I saw this girl, and she was playing with a doll's house." Here Mai paused, drawing in a sharp breath. "It was a doll's house of this house, and there were dolls of us. The dolls of us were where we were in real life. Then I looked at the girl, and, um… she had no face…"

Naru raised an eyebrow. "No face?" Mai nodded. Naru turned back to his file. He had not read anything that linked to girls with no faces yet, but you never knew what could come up.

"Um, where is everyone else?"

"Bed, most likely."

"Why, what time is it?"

"About 10 to midnight."

Her jaw dropped. "10 to midnight?"

"Yes."

He turned. "Mai, do you have a problem with your jaw?"

"No." She sighed and leaned back on the sofa. Damn her stupid body for waking up at such a time. Now she didn't feel tired at all and she was probably going to end sleeping during the day and running around during the night. Great.

"What are you two doing? Aren't you going to go to sleep?" Mai asked, willing herself to be sleepy.

"No."

She paused, trying to think of something either witty or interesting to say. Suddenly the doll's house from her dream focused in her mind's eye. She bit her lip. She wanted to go check that attic, but she knew Naru would never let her go at midnight. He'd say she'd get lost or walk into something or fall off the ladder or something. She suspected he kept a host of handy insults ready.

But… the more she thought she wouldn't be allowed to go, the more she wanted to.

"Er, Naru, I'm going back to bed." Mai said. Naru didn't say anything. "Is that okay?"

"Fine."

She got up quickly and practically ran out of base. No, she had to be calm. She couldn't alert Naru that she was up to no good.

All the effort was somewhat wasted though.

Naru sighed. Mai was such a bad liar. He briefly wondered what she was up to. Suddenly he became aware of Lin watching him.

"I'll be right back." He muttered, getting up. Lin nodded and turned back to the computer. Naru could swear he saw him smile.

Silently Naru followed Mai down the corridor. It seemed he had been wrong; she was going towards her room. But Mai glanced back furtively. Naru frowned. She had looked almost guilty, and her pace had increased. What on earth?

Mai went up the stairs to the top floor, never once noticing the dark figure behind her. No wonder ghosts attack her so often, Naru thought grimly, she has no awareness of anything around her. That's exactly why he had to protect her all the time. He followed her round the corner.

"What are you doing?" He found himself face to face with a borderline angry Mai. She had crossed her arms.

"What are you doing?" Naru asked. He folded his arms.

"I asked you first!" Mai narrowed her eyes. Naru smirked at how childish she was. "It's rude to answer a question with a question." She added, frowning.

"Following you." Naru gave in. "Now you answer mine."

Mai bit her lip. The frown was replaced with a guilty look. "I knew you'd say no so…" She murmured.

"I'd prefer it if you actually asked."

"But you would have said no!"

"Doesn't mean you can't ask." He sighed. "Just where are you going, anyway?"

She looked down at her feet. "The attic." She said in a quiet voice.

"Your dream." He said simply after a nanosecond pause. She nodded.

"I wanted to see the doll's house."

"Haven't you considered the possibility that the doll's house was destroyed or moved?"

"Well, no… but I think it's still there."

They both stood in the corridor for several minutes.

"Well, we're almost there now. We may as well carry on." Naru said. Only for Mai would he go looking in some dusty old attic in the middle of the night for a doll's house (bad enough) which probably wasn't even there (even worse). He mentally sighed.

"Really?" Mai squealed, grinning widely. "Thanks!" She practically skipped off. Naru rolled his eyes and followed at a more leisurely pace.

"In here." Mai slowly opened the door to a room. It squeaked and was stiff, but, after a certain amount of tugging, opened. Mai moved to the corner of the room, looking up at the ceiling. Naru stood next to her. Faintly he could just about make out the dark outline of a trapdoor.

Mai moved round to the ladder next to him.

"Not so fast." Mai froze, and slowly turned to look at him.

"Why?"

"How old do you think this ladder is?" He asked. He reached out and grabbed a rung, putting all his weight on it. It snapped, the loud sudden noise making Mai jump. Naru winced slightly as he dusted himself off. He inspected his hand.

"I've got a splinter." Was his only comment. It looked like quite deep one too. "Would you?" He held out his hand. Mai blushed. This was just the kind of embarrassing situation she didn't want to be in! Slowly she reached out and took his hand. She could feel her cheeks heat up and her traitorous heart beat faster.

Naru smirked, as though he could tell exactly what she was thinking. Eventually, face burning, Mai managed to get the splinter out, and she quickly moved away.

"I think we're going to have to wait till the morning." Naru said, walking towards the door. Mai ran up to him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, as he led her down corridors.

"Taking you to your room."

"But this isn't the way."

"Mai, when you get a sense of direction I might just listen to you. Until then refrain from commenting."

"Jerk." She mumbled.

* * *

Mai stretched. It was, as Naru would probably put it, 'a more reasonable hour to run around attics searching for doll's houses'.

She sat up and blinked at Naru several times, slightly resembling an eager dog that has just seen a steak in his master's hand and was hoping that that steak was destined for its mouth.

He seemed to sense her excitement and got up.

"Eh, Naru-chan?"

"I'm going to go find a ladder." Mai also jumped up. For some unknown reason she felt really excited about going and finding the doll's house, like she knew it was a big thing. Somehow it just felt really important.

"Er, why?"

"We're going to investigate the attic." Yasuhara raised an eyebrow – the attic? Now, Naru and Mai may want be together, but surely Naru could find a more romantic place then a dusty attic? There must be something interesting there. And anyway, there was nothing else to do…

Naru sighed with irritation. He could feel his forehead starting to throb. For a start, it would have been easier to get a ladder by himself, but of course Yasuhara, Monk and Ayako had managed to ruin it by a) fighting and making too much noise, b) getting in everyone's way and c) assuming that holding a ladder was an opportunity for some mischief. Usually to do with slapstick comedy. It was beyond him how they managed it.

But, eventually, they had got the ladder in place. And so, Naru had ascended. The trapdoor was stuck, but after straining for a bit it came lose. Naru crawled up, before standing up and dusting himself off. He helped Mai out, and left the others to fend for themselves.

In Mai's dream, the attic had been full of decaying objects, the majority of them covered by white sheets. Now the attic was empty, and even dustier. Mai ran past Naru deeper into the depths of the rather large attic, her eyes searching for the doll's house.

There! It stood surprisingly modestly in a corner, where it had been in her dream, although (thankfully) the girl wasn't there. She stopped in front of it, Naru not far behind.

The doll's house was quite large, and it looked like an exact miniature version of the house they were in. Dolls were scattered about the rooms. Naru appeared next to her, frowning at the object. The dolls were exact representations of everyone in the house. Mai could see John, Masako and Lin in base (base even had a little row of shelves and monitors); there was someone she didn't recognise in the kitchen. She dragged her eyes up, to the attic. In the miniature attic, it was empty too, except for a tiny little doll's house in one of the corners. In the room below, a mini ladder was standing, with a tiny Naru somehow balancing on it. Mai, Yasuhara, Monk and Ayako stood at the bottom of the ladder. By now, everyone else had managed to climb up the ladder and make their way to the doll's house.

"Is that… us?" Bou-san breathed. Mai nodded. Naru glared at it for many minutes.

"We'll take it down to base." Ayako gaped at him.

"You mean _carry_ it?"

"Yes."

"Something that _big_?"

"Yes."

"Down a _ladder_?"

"Yes."

"How on earth are we meant to do that?"

"It got up here some way, so it must be possible to take it down again. I'm sure you will find a way to do so." And he stalked off. Ayako glared after him, still gaping. Then she turned back to the doll's house, sighing. Yasuhara had kneeled down so his face was almost in base.

"Why does he want it in base, anyway?"

There was a pause as everyone thought.

"I imagine it'd be quite useful – I mean, it shows where everyone is." Yasuhara said.

"But then why aren't our dolls in the attic?"

Another pause as everyone started thinking again.

"They stopped right before we came in right?" Yasuhara said slowly.

"Yeah."

"So they stopped moving just as we came in… and might have seen the doll's house."

"We could test that. Let's all turn our backs for a few seconds, and see if anything's moved."

They all turned their backs to the house, Mai screwed her eyes shut. Bou-san counted to ten in his head, then turned around again. The others followed his example and turned around as well. There was a gasp.

Indeed, the dolls had moved – in the attic, Yasuhara, Mai, Monk and Ayako all had their backs turned to the doll's house. The little doll of Naru was now several corridors away.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed ^^**

**When writing the bit with the ladder, we had images of Bou-san swinging the ladder round, Mai and Yasuhara ducking it but Ayako getting hit and then hitting Monk. :D**

**And we're sorry, but : This sunday I am going on a trip, lasting a week, so there will be no updates for at least a week while I'm away. TT_TT**

**Please review! \(*o*)/**


	5. Chapter 5

Morbid, Part 5

Mai felt her arm. It ached where she had been dragged across the floor, but in the pitch black she couldn't see the damage. Her legs were bruised, and her clothes scraped and scratched. In places they were torn down one side.

"Hello?" Her voice was raspy. Her throat scratched her when she spoke and her empty stomach constricted, causing a dull ache. "HELP! Someone please!" She broke down into sobs. "Naru, Bou-san, Ayako, Lin-san, anyone. Just please someone come."

After a while the tears stopped. She stood up, tracing the wall as she had done several times before, but with some strange hope that maybe this time she'd find something she hadn't noticed before made her carry on. The stone was rough and cold under her fingers. She counted the four corners.

She had no idea how long she had been there for. The seconds stretched for minutes, which stretched for hours which stretched for days. There was no way of telling the time.

Mai's throat was sore. She coughed, and it felt like sandpaper was rubbing at her windpipe. Suddenly there was a shift in the air. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She was alert, all her muscles tensed.

Something stroked her leg. Mai screamed.

- half an hour earlier -

Naru was, as per usual, sat in his chair in base. It was early, around half five, but the weak sun was already trying to push threads of light through the windows. It looked sluggish, slow and tired, just as he felt. But he couldn't get back to sleep.

"Naru?" A small voice came from the doorway. He turned around. Mai was hugging the doorframe, like a guilty six year old, her eyes wide with fear.

"What?" Naru asked, waiting for the explanation as to why on earth she was out of bed at this time of the morning.

"I had a nightmare…"

Naru put his file down.

"But it wasn't that kind of nightmare." Mai said hurriedly.

"What was it then?"

Mai seemed to take this as in invitation to come into the room, as she ran towards the sofa and jumped onto it. She blushed, and muttered something, looking around her nervously.

"Pardon?" Naru asked.

"It had lots of bugs in it!" Mai said wretchedly, blushing magnificently. Naru paused. He wasn't anticipating that.

"Bugs?"

"You know, creepy crawlies! And…" Her breath caught. "Spiders." She shuddered, embarrassed and relieved that she was talking to someone at the same time.

"So why did you come here?" Asked a completely baffled Naru. For a start, why should she be scared of spiders? They were harmless, and what's more, they were probably more scared of you then you were of them. The same went for most insects.

"Well, I felt bad waking Ayako again."

"Again." It wasn't a question, but it demanded an answer.

"I had a nightmare yesterday as well… actually, I've had a bad dream in one way or another since we came."

"None of them psychic?"

She shook her head. She could feel the conversation shuddering to a halt, but she felt better now. Naru always had that air around him, something that comforted her…

"What time is it?" She asked, cursing her voice for coming out weirdly. If Naru noticed it, he didn't mention it.

"Late. Or early." If he was honest, he didn't care.

"Where's Lin?" She asked, her fingers twisting as she realised that she was pretty much having a one sided conversation.

"In bed."

Mai accidently twisted one of her fingers too sharply and breathed in quickly at the small burst of pain. Naru looked up, at her face, slightly surprised at the gasp. She smiled apologetically, shifting uncomfortably in the silence.

"Um, Naru?"

"Hm?"

"You know the body we found…"

"Yes."

"Who was it?"

There was a slight hesitation.

"The cook. She had been missing for about a month before we found her body."

"Oh."

"Mai, there's nothing here." Naru said, amazed that she continued to look around for clearly non-existent bugs.

"I know…" Mai said, blushing. Naru didn't even bother replying. They sat in an empty base, in complete silence.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Naru suggested.

"Because then the bugs will eat me!" Mai squealed, her voice suddenly child-like. Realising what she had just said, she sank back into the sofa in embarrassment.

"Mai, I can assure you there are no bugs."

"I know… but…"

Mai glanced over at the doll's house, which stood on a table in the corner of the room. It had taken them about an hour to get it into base from the attic.

"Mai, go to bed." Naru folded his arms.

"Can't I just go to sleep here?" Mai was staring at him hopefully with those cute large eyes. Somehow Naru couldn't quite find it in him to refuse.

"You'll get cold."

"That's a yes?" Mai asked excitedly.

"Whatever." Mai flashed him a radiant smile, and hopped onto the couch. She curled up into a tight ball, and though she closed her eyes she didn't fall asleep for a while. Instead she lay there listening to his quiet breathing, a calm, safe feeling spreading through her.

Naru continued his work in peace and quiet, only stealing the occasional glance at her. Or the occasional stare.

"Naru?" Mai murmured in her sleep. Naru's attention was immediately roused. "Bou-san? Ayako…" She continued. Naru felt a slight flutter of disappointment.

Suddenly she screamed. Naru was by her side at once, and before he knew it she had wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder.

Okay, so it was awkward for Naru. He hadn't been hugged for a few years. He wasn't a huggable person, and he was unused to the sensation.

A multitude of people burst in through the door rather dramatically about a nanosecond later, most of them saying Mai's name.

Naru could hear, well, more _feel_ Mai murmur, "Go away, go away!" as she clung to him. Calmly Naru reached around and unfastened her from his neck.

"Mai, it's alright." Monk said, watching with a helpless look on his face.

"What happened?" Naru asked once Mai had calmed down enough.

"I was in cave, and I'd been there for days and there was something with me and it was stroking my leg…"

"What was with you?"

"I don't know!" Mai buried her head in her hands. A long minute passed.

"Why were you in base, anyway?" Bou-san asked.

"I had a nightmare…" Mai said weakly.

"Why didn't you tell _me_?" Ayako asked, hurt sounding in her voice.

"I didn't want to wake you again."

Ayako sighed. "You can always wake me. I don't mind."

"But whenever we wake you up in the mornings you complain…"

"That's different."

Mai looked down at her fingers again.

"I'm going to bed." Masako said rather curtly, before leaving. Mai yawned. She was the only person Naru knew who could wake up from having a scary dream and still be tired.

"I'm going too." Naru raised an eyebrow. What had happened to all those scary Mai-eating bugs?

* * *

The next morning, Mai was in the kitchen, when she felt eyes on her. She turned.

From the doorway, she was being watched intently by a girl of a similar age.

"Um, hi?" Mai said, realising she was staring at the girl's bright greeny blue highlights which clashed with her black hair. She also had a blue knitted dress and lime green shoes. She looked kind of funky, and not at all like someone Mai would usually associate with the sad look in her eyes. "You must be…" She started, realising half-way through her sentence that she had no idea who this girl was.

"Shirai Wakiko." The girl stated simply. "You are…?"

"Taniyama Mai." Mai said, her confidence improving now that Wakiko had said something and had stopped staring. "Are you Shirai-san's daughter?"

The girl snorted slightly, as though she disapproved with the idea. "Yes. What are you doing?"

"Making tea for my boss." Mai sighed, pouring tea from the kettle into a cup.

"Oh. Shibuya-san. The good-looking one."

"Yes." Mai scowled.

"Oh? You like him?" It was said like it was a question, but Mai could tell that she was pretty confident that she was right.

"No." She answered, still scowling. Wakiko smiled, but didn't comment. Mai walked towards the door with the tea. "What are you doing?" She asked, curious, the scowl had eased off her face.

Wakiko shrugged. "I was bored, and came down to steal some sweets. But you were there."

"You still could have stolen sweets. I can't exactly tell you off you know."

"I know. But it wouldn't be a good first impression, would it?" Wakiko suddenly sighed sadly. Mai got the impression she didn't talk to many people her own age, and now that there was a ghost hunting team she was jumping at the chance to talk.

"First impressions can be changed. I wouldn't think badly of you or anything."

"I read once that it's hard to change first impressions."

They were now at the base door. Mai smiled at Wakiko before going in.

"What took you so long?" Naru's voice was cold and harsh.

"Talking." Mai defended, handing him the still warm cup of tea. Seriously, she hadn't taken _that_ long.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't waste company time." He turned back to his file.

"Jeez…" Mai muttered, before sitting down next to Yasuhara on the sofa.

"Seeing as you wasted time, you can now do something to make up for it." Naru said, waiting till just after Mai had settled into a comfortable position (ah, he's mean ). Her face fell, but she got up quickly anyway.

"Lin's computer has lost all the notes from the interviews, and as they were on the desktop Lin's not good enough with the new operating system to retrieve them. So, I will need all the notes re-written."

Mai stared at him. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Naru that's so unfair!" Mai complained.

"Life's unfair."

"Naru! That's going to take forever!" Mai whined.

"I highly doubt that."

"Nnng!" Mai managed, her hands clenching in anger and exasperation. To this Naru had nothing to say. But he did raise a single eyebrow. Mai sighed and sat down at the table, muttering various threats and curses that she would never have the heart to carry out.

To be fair to Mai, she did work solidly for as long as she could, which amounted to about fifteen minutes, before giving in to complete boredom and doodling on the bottom of the page.

"What do you think you're doing?" Naru's calm voice came from over her shoulder. She jumped.

"N-nothing." She immediately covered up her drawings. Naru lifted up her hand and surveyed her handiwork. Mai braced herself.

"You're surprisingly good at art." He dropped her wrist and returned to his chair.

"What?" Mai cried. "You always do that! I was prepared to make a witty comeback and then you do that!"

"Witty comebacks may be a bit beyond you."

"I am so capable of witty comebacks."

Naru raised his eyebrows.

"I am!"

Naru didn't say anything.

"Mai, are you going to do anymore work?"

"No…" She stuck her tongue out at Naru.

"Then could you go with Bou-san and John and do a re-check of all the temperatures."

"Fine." She wrinkled her nose, getting up and exiting with Monk and John.

* * *

Monk and John walked ahead of her, talking about something. She was thinking absently.

She was completely unprepared for what came next.

An arm wrapped around her waist, claws scraping unpleasantly against her skin through her thin top, at the same time as foul smelling hand clamped itself in front of her mouth. She tried to scream as she was hauled roughly backwards, but the hand covered her mouth blocked it from coming out. Her fingers clawed at it, but to no avail, and she kicked out, trying to wrestle out its – whatever it was – grip.

_John, Bou-san, help!_ Her eyes stared at John and Bou-san. They hadn't noticed her being dragged back at all. She was helpless. _Naru!_

Then her head collided with something hard and the darkness washed over her.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long and for the week long delay.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed! **

**I like cycling to and from school a lot more now, because I cycle past a lot of cherry blossom trees, and they're all blossoming. They look so pretty. I wish we had a cherry blossom tree in our garden *sigh***

**~Please review!~ ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

Morbid

Part 6

The next time Mai opened her eyes, it was pitch black. It took several minutes for her eyes to get used to the dark, and even then she could only just see.

"Hello?" She called, hoping that someone would hear her and yet fearing that something inhuman would hear her.

There was no answer.

"Naru?" She called, although she knew that he wouldn't be there. Saying his name made her feel better.

There wasn't a single sound.

She managed to get up, and hobbled over to the wall. Her legs were bruised and sore, and it hurt to walk. There was also a sharp pain in her arm. She looked down, only to see a ragged cut, dripping blood slowly. She ignored it. Now wasn't the time to be worrying about minor cuts.

She felt the rock. It was rough and sharp. She made her way round the room, but she couldn't feel or see an exit. How there was air, she didn't know, but there had to be an opening somewhere.

She remembered the cook. She'd been missing for a month, then she'd been mutilated and her body tossed away. Would she share the same fate? Deep inside her brain she knew the answer was yes, yet part of her still stayed hopeful.

She felt part of the wall the stood out. It would make a good foot hold, if she wanted to climb. She looked up. She couldn't see a ceiling, but then she couldn't see any light either. She put her foot on the knobble of rock, feeling her way up the wall.

She didn't know how far she'd got up – probably not far, her progress was agonizingly slow – when her foot slipped and she fell to the ground, hitting a rock that jutted out painfully, crying out.

She lay there on the ground, pain in every limb. Sleep washed over her heavily, trying to mask the pain she felt whenever she moved or even twitched. She soon gave into it.

* * *

Mai woke up, but didn't open her eyes. She was content to simply lie there, in the warmth and softness…

Wait. She needed to open her eyes. It didn't feel like she was in a cave anymore. Caves weren't comfy, and the one she'd been in earlier hadn't been warm. She slowly dragged her eyes open.

She wasn't in a cave anymore. She looked across the familiar landscape of her room. Relief washed through her, and she snuggled back into the covers. She'd been rescued…

Sleep wasn't willing to come, so she opened her eyes again. If she'd been rescued, she needed to let the others know that she'd woken up and was okay. She sat up, looking around. Both Masako's and Ayako's beds were empty.

Sighing, she slipped out of bed and walked to base.

Base, at first glance, seemed empty. There was a horrible lack of Naru, Lin, Bou-san, Ayako and Masako. Then she heard a giggle. Her stomach flipped, she recognised that sound.

There was the little girl, again playing with the doll's house. The little girl turned to face her. Mai's stomach settled when she saw the girl's face, looking eagerly at her. Mai's feet took a step forward, and another, until she was standing next to the girl, who was moving a little doll of someone round the dining room.

It was then that Mai realised she was dreaming. Any hope, happiness and relief washed out of her.

"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" She asked the girl quietly. The girl hesitated, then nodded.

Mai couldn't help it, she started sobbing. Soon she was going to wake up, and she would be back in that cavern, where she would be killed. She would never see her friends again. She would never see SPR again. She would never see Naru again… She would die, all alone, another victim of the ghost. Even if she was going to die, she wanted to see everyone again. Tell them she loved them and goodbye. Now she would never get that chance.

The girl said something, but Mai didn't catch what it was.

* * *

Mai was lying painfully on her stomach. She breathed in sharply, turning over, ignoring the pain screaming in every inch of her body. Tears pricked her eyes. She'd woken up.

There was heavy breathing from somewhere on her left. She slowly half sat up, eyes straining.

There was some sort of shape there, defiantly not human, watching her. She started to scream and scrabble backwards just as it pounced forward.

* * *

**Ahh, another cliffhanger. Whoever invented them is a genius.  
Poor Mai :( **

**I feel quite guilty and she's not even real. **


	7. Chapter 7

Morbid, Part 7

Naru sighed. This day was not boding well.

Mai, being the genius that she was, had managed to not only collapse in the middle of the corridor, but also hit her head against a wall in the process of collapsing, and now her body was refusing to wake up.

Just great.

Ayako entered base. He looked up. "How's Mai?"

Ayako shook her head. "Still unconscious. I don't know when she'll wake up."

Monk was biting his lip nervously. She'd already been out for several hours.

Then a scream cut the air in two.

"Mai!" Everyone ran to her bedroom. Mai was thrashing in her bed, as if she was struggling with some imaginary being, which she probably was, considering the circumstances. Naru trapped her arms to the bed, trying to avoid her legs which were kicking out manically.

"Someone wake her up!" He shouted.

Seeing as shaking her obviously wouldn't work, and no-one had a glass of water handy, Ayako slapped Mai, who immediately calmed down. Naru released her arms, just as Mai opened her eyes. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. Mai blinked several times, then sat up slowly, unsure of what was going on.

"Guys?" She asked, her voice cracking. Ayako and Bou-san immediately hugged the girl.

"Jou-chan! We were so worried, we thought you wouldn't ever wake up…"

"This is real, right?" Mai asked cautiously. She wasn't taking any chances, but Ayako felt reassuringly solid.

"Of course it's real."

Mai reacted by wrapping her arms around Ayako and sobbing into her. Bou-san frowned and crossed his arms. He was a bit miffed about Mai choosing Ayako over him, but he didn't mention it or brood over it.

"What happened?" Naru asked, pretending not to notice almost everyone's glares. Mai released Ayako, wiping away tears with the back of her hand.

"I was… kidnapped by something, and it took me to some sort of cavern, and I couldn't get out, then I fell asleep and had a dream where I was in base again, and there was a little girl playing with the doll's house, then I woke up and I was in the cavern again. But I wasn't alone this time." Here she started chewing on her lip nervously. "There was some sort of… creature there, and it attacked me, it was clawing at me and I couldn't get away from it…" She descended into tears again.

Seemingly satisfied, Naru left her room, Lin following behind him. There wasn't much he could do, after all.

About an hour later, everyone was back in base again.

"Naru, what do you think is doing this?" Yasuhara asked.

"It's probably the same ghost that's messing with doll's house. Mai, did the ghost say anything to you in your dream?"

She shook her head. "No." She paused. "Actually, she did, but I didn't hear it."

Naru cursed his luck. Damn Mai to not listen to the ghost.

"Are you sure? It seems like the ghost of a child."

Naru paused then, drumming his fingers silently against the table. Something playing with a doll's house didn't seem like the same thing that would kidnap people and mutilate them. However…

"What else do we have? Besides, we could be dealing with a ghost with some sort of mental disorder. I wouldn't be surprised if the dolls are actually some sort of hitogata, by which people are manipulated."

There was a numb silence following his words, as everyone processed and considered it. "True…"

"Mai, tea." She scowled and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Wakiko was looking intently yet again at her from the doorway of her room, which was along the way.

"Oh, hi, Wakiko." Wakiko smiled.

"Getting more tea?" She mocked lightly.

"Yes."

"Are you like, tea lady supreme or something?"

Mai laughed. "Probably."

Wakiko's face creased into concern. "Are you okay? I heard you hit your head."

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Um… can I ask something of you?" Wakiko asked, fidgeting.

"Sure." Mai smiled, trying to improve Wakiko's confidence.

"Tonight… Would you like to see the stars?"

Mai blinked. "The stars?"

"Yeah… they always look so pretty. Could you watch them with me? Please?"

"Of course! I'd love to!"

Wakiko smiled broadly. "Great! I'll meet you later, tea supreme!" And with that she was gone, dancing down the corridor.

* * *

Mai had just handed Naru his tea when they all heard a loud rumble, seeming to come from the depths of the ground. It only lasted a few seconds before it died down almost as quickly as it had started.

"What was that?" Mai asked, watching Naru settle the wobbling tea cup.

"I don't know." Naru looked grim. He set down the tea cup and got up, walking quickly to the base door. The others followed his lead. Outside, they bumped into Soh, who was running frantically in the direction of the front door. He stopped and stared at SPR.

"That sounded like a landslide!" He quickly explained, and continued running. Everyone else followed his lead and ran outside.

There was only one road that led up to the house – a long winding one, without tarmac. You didn't have to walk far before you had to turn back. A column of rock had slipped from the side of the mountain and completely covered the road. Everyone from the house stood silent, looking at the rubble.

"It looks bad. We'll be completely cut off from the town." Soh said nonchalantly, as if this happened every day. "We have enough food, so we'll simply have to wait until we clear it away."

"How long will that take?" Ayako asked.

"A few days." Soh said, running a critical eye over the rubble.

"And we're completely cut off from town?" Lin asked.

"By vehicle, yes."

There wasn't much they could do by staring at the rock, so they headed back towards the house. The silence was eerily pressing down on them, despite Mai and Yasuhara's constant chatter. It was somehow still there even when there was noise around. In truth, it was starting to creep Mai out, and that was why she suddenly felt so talkative.

"Soo, Naru, what do you want us to do now?" Bou-san asked, with his fingers crossed behind his back.

Naru paused for a few moments, thinking. "Exorcise all the rooms." He returned to his file.

Bou-san gapped. "_All_ of them?" Finger crossing hadn't done much good.

"Yes." It was suitable task to get away from their pointless chit-chat. "Take Hara-san."

"Can I go with them?" Mai suddenly asked.

"No."

Mai instantly deflated. "Why not?" She asked, her voice full of disappointment.

"Because this tea is cold now." He held out the cup. Mai sighed and took the cup. "Take…"Naru paused, wondering who should go with her. Yasuhara or Ayako? "Yasuhara with you." Then he realised that although it was better than staying in base with only Yasuhara (He wasn't really counting Lin, seeing as Lin was pretty much silent the whole time), he still hated the thought of being stuck with Ayako.

"And take Matsuzake-san as well."

All three nodded, and set off to make tea.

"How do you think John's going to get here?" Mai suddenly asked. She liked John, and wanted him to come.

"I don't know. He can't come by car, that's for certain. Unless he wants to wait a few more days."

"But we don't know how long it could take to get the road cleared! It could be a week!"

"He could always hike up." Ayako suggested, examining her fingernails and leaning against the countertop while Mai made the tea.

Mai absently pouted while she thought that out. "Yeah, I suppose. But wouldn't it be rather a nuisance? You'd have to bring all your clothes up with you. And he'd have to take his bible and holy water to add to the weight." Her mind imagined a scenario, and she gasped dramatically. "What if he's hiking up, and his holy water bottle breaks!" She melodramatically gestured the bottle breaking with her arms.

"Then he'd have holy clothes. And a lack of holy water. Couldn't he… I dunno, bless some more water?"

Mai poured the tea into a tea cup. "I suppose so. If he could do that, then he wouldn't need to bring any water up."

When they got back to base, Mai posed the question to Naru. "How's John going to get here?"

"I've contacted him and informed him of the land slide. He'll go in a car up to the landslide, then hike the rest of the way. He'll be coming tomorrow."

Mai sighed. Trust Naru to think of everything beforehand.

* * *

Mai shifted in bed, feeling slightly uncomfortable in her clothes. She hadn't told the others of her night trip, so she'd gone to bed before them, and drew the covers up to her neck to avoid revealing the fact that she hadn't got changed for the night.

Encouraged by the soft breaths and snores coming from Masako and Ayako, she silently slipped out of bed, pausing mid-slide to look in the direction of the window. It was completely black, from what little she could see through the curtains. She noiselessly tiptoed to door and opened it slowly, wincing at the tiny creak the door made, but neither Ayako nor Masako woke up. So far, so good.

She hadn't tiptoed far when she saw Wakiko, also in her day clothes. At the sight of her, Wakiko's face split into a big grin.

"Come on." She whispered. "Do you have shoes by the front door?"

Mai shifted through her memories before nodding. Wakiko stuffed her hand into her mouth to stop any giggles escaping. They crept to the front door, where they quickly put on their shoes before opening the front door and slipping out without waking anybody.

Wakiko ran through the garden.

"How far are we going?" Mai asked, still whispering, part of her suddenly uncertain and keen to go back. Wakiko turned around, the moonlight highlighting her face.

"I know a really great spot. It's best to go away from the house, but not in the woods, because then all the trees get in the way."

Mai nodded and continued following Wakiko. They went round the house and on a faint path through one part of the woods. It wasn't long before they headed out of the forest and into a large clearing. Mai stifled a gasp, despite the fact that only Wakiko could hear her anyway.

The place was beautiful. Small clumps of wild flowers grew sporadically among the grass. Mai could see a small stream winding its way through the undergrowth, the water only making a faint gurgling sound. At one end of the clearing there was a small outcrop of rock, jutting up from the surrounding vegetation. The moonlight caught all of it a soft bluey glow.

"It's amazing." Mai said as they weaved through the grass.

"I know. Isn't it so romantic?" Wakiko said eagerly, hardly bothering to keep her voice down. "I'm the only one who comes here, but I'd love to come here on a date. Pity I know just about no guys."

"Don't you?"

"No. I'm homeschooled."

They lay on their backs on the rock. This time, Mai didn't bother to stifle her gasp.

The night sky was chock full of stars, each one perfectly clear and bright. Mai could see a thick milky line across the sky, which she instantly recognised as the Milky Way.

"Look. There's the saucepan." Wakiko said, pointing to the constellation. "I learnt all the constellations just so I could recognise them whenever I went to look at the stars."

"Really? I could never learn them all."

"It's not that hard. I'll show you." Wakiko pointed out most of the major constellations and any other stars that were worth mentioning. Mai had a sideways glance at Wakiko and let a sigh escape her lips. Part of her wished that instead of being here with Wakiko, she was here with Naru instead… She frowned. Except he'd ruin it be being an unromantic, insensitive, irritating jerk.

There was a crunch as a twig snapped. Mai immediately sat up. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled.

"Didn't you say that you were the only one who came here?" Mai asked quietly.

"Yeah…"

Suddenly the air cut sharply into their skin, drawing blood, and Mai knew for certain that they certainly weren't alone.

* * *

**Eek. Sorry, this would have been up earlier today but my sister hadn't read it and she was coming home late becuase she had an exam and then they locked her out of school and about 10 minutes before she came back my mum found it fit to take my laptop and lock it away. So I only just persuaded her that I really wanted to update Morbid and she gave the laptop back.**

**I like to think the beginning was a bit anti climax :|**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, added this to story alert or added this to favourites.**

** I also like to think that reviews are like my kind of drugs. They make me really happy, but there's no health risk.**

**Please review~ **


	8. Chapter 8

Morbid, Part 8

Mai heard Wakiko scream next to her as another set of deep cuts appeared on her arms, but she barely registered it. Mai could faintly see a shape emerging from the trees. Her eyes widened in shock.

Her dream… it was the same thing that she saw in her dream…

The air flowed unnaturally sharp into both of them, causing more wounds and blood to drip out.

"Rin pyou tou sha kai jin retsu zai zen!"

The shape stopped momentarily, peering at them, before advancing out of the trees.

It wasn't human. The shape of it had become distorted, and it was hunched over, the arms unnaturally long. It briefly reminded Mai of Urado.

Wakiko screamed again. Mai could hear footsteps running towards them and shouts of others, but she didn't pay any attention to them.

"Naumaku sanmanda bazaradan kan!"

The thing scowled and fled back into forest. Only once it was gone did Mai become aware of the pain she felt in her arms and on one side of her face. She lifted her fingers to her cheek and they came back red. She was bleeding?

"Mai!" She looked to see everyone else running towards her and Wakiko. Suddenly she was wrenched from person to person, each checking to see if she was okay. Out of the corner of her eye she could vaguely see Masako helping Wakiko up. Finally she came to rest in front of Naru (somehow all the others had stopped fussing over her… sly peoples :D ), who looked extremely annoyed. He was gripping her shoulders so tightly it almost hurt.

"Mai, you-! How could you be so _stupid_?"

She looked down, not able to meet his eyes. "Sorry Naru."

He released his grip on her shoulders and took a step back. "At least you're not hurt badly. We should head back." Mai nodded as everyone started heading back. A first aid box was quickly located, and Ayako started bandaging up Wakiko. Naru somehow (No-one was quite sure how) ended up bandaging up Mai.

"Mai, promise me you won't go running off by yourself in the middle of the night."

"But Naru!" Mai immediately started.

"At least take someone who has some way of protecting you with you."

"But I wanted to see the stars…"

"That's irrelevant. You shouldn't put them above your own safety, Mai. Promise me you won't do it again." He started wiping a cut on her arm gently.

"I promise." She grumbled. Satisfied, he couldn't resist smirking.

"Why were you out, anyway?"

Mai bit her lip. She didn't want Wakiko to get yelled at by Naru.

"I really wanted to see the stars, so I got Wakiko to take me." She lied. Naru stopped wiping the cut and stared at her for a few moments, as if judging whether she was lying or not.

"You mean, you decided it would be a good idea to go traipsing in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night… despite the fact that you know it's haunted by a psychopathic ghost."

"They were pretty." Mai admitted.

"You didn't even tell us, Mai."

"I didn't think you needed to know."

He scoffed. "You think I didn't need to know that you were running around at night?"

"Sorry Naru. But they were worth it; you could see the Milky Way and everything!" Mai said, a slither of excitement detectable in her voice.

"Mai, nothing is worth getting attacked."

"Whatever you say." Mai said, thinking of all the things it was worth being hurt for.

"Stop it. It's not worth it, do you understand?" Mai could feel his dark blue eyes boring into hers, willing her to agree with him.

"Yes… Daddy." Mai grinned at him. "Come on Naru, loosen up!"

"You could have been seriously hurt." Naru, for his part, couldn't believe that his assistant could be so cheerful.

"Yeah, but I wasn't." Mai shrugged.

"But you could have been."

"But I wasn't." She gazed levelly at him, each defying the other to argue back. Subconsciously Mai stretched out, leaning closer to him.

"Jeez Naru, you're really bad at this, Mai's still got blood all over her face." Yasuhara appeared over Naru's shoulder, looking critical. Naru frowned minutely.

"They were too busy staring at each other Yasu." Monk chuckled. Mai scowled and blushed. Naru sighed and started wiping the blood off Mai's face. Evidently Yasuhara was pleased with the progress because he disappeared to somewhere else.

"What's so interesting about the stars, anyway?" Naru wondered.

"They're so pretty and romantic…" Mai sighed.

"But they're just stars. Burning balls of gas. Nothing special."

"I think they're special. They're millions and billions of miles away! Doesn't that… excite you?" She struggled momentarily for the right word and settled with 'excite'.

"No. I can't see any point in losing sleep just to watch them." He stopped wiping and pressed the wipe to the wound, which was stubbornly refusing to stop bleeding.

"It'll stop." Mai said, referring to the cut.

"No, it won't, that's why I'm holding the wipe to it."

They sat like that for about half a minute, before he removed the wipe and threw it in the bin. He eyed the cut on her cheek critically. It looked deeper than the rest, but at least now it had finally given in and stopped bleeding.

* * *

"Mai. Mai. Wake up. Mai." Someone was shaking her roughly, disturbing her sleep. She waved an arm in the general direction of the voice without opening her eyes, hoping to somehow brush them away.

"Go away…" She returned her grip on the pillow which had been contorted into some sort of squished shape.

"Mai, it's nine o'clock."

"Too early…"

"And Naru said that if you're too tired to get up then it's your own fault for running around at a ridiculous time and creating a racket."

"Not my fault we got attacked…" Mai mumbled, and rolled over while pulling the covers over her head in a bid to drown out the voice.

"Mai, I don't want to go and tell Naru you're not getting up. He'll be mad!" Masako promised.

"Don't care. Five more minutes?" Mai mumbled, before quickly falling asleep again. Masako glared at the lump that was Mai, as though that would somehow get Mai to stop sleeping. She sighed angrily, but left the room.

Yet again, Mai was rudely awakened by someone shaking her shoulder.

"I already asked for five minutes…" She said, batting her hand feebly against the person's arm.

"You've had five minutes seeing as it takes time to get here."

"But-"

"No buts. Get up. We have work to do." Mai grumbled muttered darkly until suddenly she gasped.

"Naru?"

"What?" He snapped.

"Nothing."

"Just get out of bed Mai."

"Hai." There was a silence. "Er, aren't you going to go?" Mai asked, suddenly self-conscious. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"What, and then you go back to sleep?"

"I'm not going to go to sleep." Mai looked forlornly at her pillow.

"Clearly you can't be trusted."

Mai muttered something, but Naru didn't catch it. He could make an educated guess though.

"I'll be done soon." Mai said, whipping of the covers and sprinting into the bathroom, leaving Naru alone fighting an irresistible desire to laugh.

* * *

"John!" Mai shrieked. Suddenly John found he had lost his balance as a small girl crashed into him.

"Er, it's nice to see you too." He said, trying to stop himself from toppling over.

"How was Australia?" Mai asked animatedly.

"You have time for chatting at the end of the day Mai. You've wasted enough time already." Naru reprimanded her sharply. Mai scrunched up her face and stuck out her tongue at his back.

"I saw that."

"Whatever."

"Believe it or not, we do actually have things to do. We do have a psychopathic ghost to get rid of."

"Yeah, we know…" Mai murmured, earning herself a glare from her favourite employer.

"I suggest we start by finding out more about this girl." He shared a look with Lin, who shook his head.

"We don't know who she is." Monk said.

"Actually we do. Godo Izumi died in this house aged ten, 176 years ago. She's the most likely. Of course, we can only go on the description of her, but from what Mai said, it sounds correct."

"It's nice when you tell us this stuff…" Mai said innocently, staring at the ceiling. Naru ignored her.

"However, we don't know when she was born and the exact date for when she died. Hara-san-"

"Masako would be fine." Masako interrupted, smiling cutely from behind her sleeve.

"Would you be able to perform a séance?"

"Of course."

"Prepare to do one tonight." Masako nodded.

"Eh, what do you want us to do?" Mai asked.

"There's nothing we can do until we more about this girl."

"Does that mean we have the day off?" Mai squeaked.

"It is Saturday," Monk added.

"Fine." Naru gave in.

* * *

Naru stretched his legs. He was alone in base, and was relishing the silence.

A noise made him sit up, listening intently. There was nothing. He must have just imagined it. It's only been a creak on the floorboards, something to be expected in a house this old. He leaned back again, reading the sentence he'd been interrupted in reading. A series of disappearances had occurred in the town, and occasionally in the house, too. He matched the dates. They'd started the same year Godo Izumi had died… The chance of her being the prominent ghost had just shot up.

The others had gone into the garden; he could see them from the window. Mai and Ayako were sunbathing, Mai's eyes were closed as she stretched out on the grass. Yasuhara said something and he could practically see the laughter forming in her middle, and rising to her mouth. He turned away from the window. Getting distracted from his work wouldn't do him any good.

He looked up sharply as there was the noise of the door opening. He frowned. No-one was there. He got up and closed the door, quickly checking the corridor to make sure someone wasn't hiding there. He couldn't see anyone, so sat back down.

Then it hit him.

Literally.

* * *

**My friend was all excited for this. Literally. She's been waiting for it for ages. She doesn't even read this story.**

**Thanks for reviews! ^^**

**I know have all the Ghost Hunt anime episodes on dvd! Yay~! Now all I need is volumes 1, 8 and 9.**

**Please review \(^o^)/**


	9. Chapter 9

Morbid, Part 9

Mai opened one eye lazily at the distant sounds of someone shouting. She couldn't make out what they were saying or who they were. She listened more intently, sitting up.

They were calling for someone. Who…

"Isn't that Lin-san?" John asked quietly.

"No, Lin doesn't yell…"

"I think it is. Something must have happened!"

Everyone started running, sprinting into the house and to base. Mai gasped.

Base was a mess.

One side of the shelf of monitors had collapsed; some of the monitors had cracks in the screens. The sofa had been knocked over, with the coffee table lying in one of corners of the room on its side. The chair where Naru normally sat had collapsed when one of the legs had shattered.

And in the middle of everything was Lin.

"W-what happened?" Mai asked.

"I don't know." Lin said bitterly. "He isn't here."

It took a moment to realise who Lin was talking about. Naru.

"What?" She gasped. The world seemed to slow around her. She could see Monk help Lin lift the sofa in the vain hope that somehow Naru would be there. But she knew he wasn't in the room. Wasn't in the house even. He was somewhere near though, she could feel it.

"Hey, isn't that-?" Ayako asked, looking at the floor intently. Masako stood next to her.

"Ohh, I feel sick…" She murmured.

"Oh God." Yasuhara said. Their eyes trailed along the floor, until focusing on a point in the corridor.

"Is that- is that-?" Mai started, although she knew the answer, unable to tear her eyes off the blood trail that they all knew was Naru's.

Lin nodded. "I only left him alone for half an hour and _this_ happens…"

Mai unsteadily walked over to the sofa and sat down, unable to take everything in.

"Well, I think we can say he put up a fight, at least." Monk said.

She stared at him. "How can you be so calm! He's gone!"

"Crying won't bring him back; neither will us yelling at each other. We need to think."

"Why him?" Mai sniffed.

"He probably offended the ghost by saying he was better than it." Monk smiled gently, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Lin had picked up the file from the floor and was flipping through it until he suddenly held it up. "Look."

Several pages of the file had been ripped out roughly, and they were nowhere to be seen.

"What, he found something and the little girl's taken him because of that?"

"No, I-" Mai started, but her weaker voice was covered by Monk's louder one.

"What could it have been?"

"Well, we don't know, do we, 'cause they're not here."

"I know that!"

"Stop arguing!" Yasuhara shouted. "We need to find him pronto, instead of worrying about bits of paper."

"Lin-san's already left." John added, staring at the door. Noisily the group got up, carefully following the tiny trickle trail of blood, until it ran out (quite quickly). They exited the house by the nearest door and stood gathered around the portal.

"Which way?" Yasuhara asked.

"We should split up." Ayako said. The group nodded wisely.

"I can go with Yasuhara, as he has no powers." John said.

"Mai?" Monk asked. She nodded. Ayako and Masako shared a look.

"I guess that leaves us." Masako said gently.

"Meet back here in a couple of hours?"

"Right."

* * *

The trees were getting more and more crowded. After two hours of searching the outskirts of the woods and finding nothing they realised they would have to go deeper into the trees. The floor was covered in a layer of rotting leaves from last autumn which no one had done anything about, and that in turn was covered by a tangled mass of weeds, briars and nettles. Navigating this mess was very difficult, if not impossible.

Masako and Ayako skirted the worst of the bushes, only pushing forwards when the undergrowth was less dense, and slowly, slowly progressing. Well, they were doing a lot of sideways progression, and a lot of turning back.

"Did you hear that?" Masako asked suddenly. Ayako stopped moving.

"No," she said nervously. They continued in silence, listening intently.

"What are the trees like here?" Masako asked.

"Er, not happy at all. They're pure though…"

"Is that good at the moment?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh." Suddenly she fell down. "My foot!" She cried out. Ayako rushed over, and inspected her ankle. There was a pink hand print round her ankle, and there were three light cuts circling her joint, starting where the finger marks could be seen.

"Ow. That looks really sore…" Ayako said, helping Masako up. "Maybe we should stop for a bit?"

"Yes please." Masako sat on a convenient rock. Ayako moved to sit next to her. She cried out as air bit into her skin.

"I can't sense him!" Masako cried. Ayako raised her hands and started chanting. She was joined by another voice.

"In the beginning was the word, and the word was God…" John called out from somewhere in the undergrowth. Yasuhara crashed through, clearing a path for John. Together they battled the ghost back.

Eventually the air cleared, as though the forest was breathing a sigh of relief; the ghost was gone.

"Has anyone seen Mai and Bou-san?" Yasuhara asked. "It's getting really dark in here."

"That's true, we should probably head back." John said sadly, giving the woods one last, long, searching look.

* * *

Naru gingerly fingered the scab on his arm. He had scraped it against the ground as he'd been dragged along. On his other arm there was a long cut running from his wrist to his elbow. It must have been quite deep, as it was still bleeding, though in all honesty he didn't really know how much time had passed. Being unconscious had screwed with his body clock.

At least he was alone.

But where? He guessed this was the place from Mai's dream. It was pitch black, and the walls were made out of rough stone just like she'd said. He walked round. Four walls, creating a rectangular space.

"I got in here somehow…" He muttered to himself. Of course, it was entirely possible that the ghost had transported him through solid walls, but he was probably underground, so unless this was a basement, which somehow he doubted, it was unlikely. This meant there had to be an entrance, or exit, somewhere. Not set into the walls, unless a master craftsman had created this, which was unlikely.

That left… Naru crouched down and explored the floor inch by inch with his hands. But he couldn't find any joins. He stood on tip toes and reached up with his hands, but he couldn't reach the ceiling. Naru smiled lopsidedly. Frankly, he was a bit disappointed; the ghost clearly wasn't as intelligent as he'd hoped. Then again, it was only a little girl.

He felt the rough stone walls. Plenty of hand and foot holds. He reached up, and started climbing. Admittedly the first few times he fell down, so that he felt sore and bruised, but Naru's nothing if not stubborn, and he persevered until he had succeeded.

His hand felt grainy wood above him. Aha.

The cold stone was growing colder. Silently Naru dropped to the floor. He noted it was barely any distance. He sat down against the wall, like he had been positioned when he woke up, and listened intently.

He looked up. It looked back at him. There was no other word for it. It was genderless, as far as he could tell, with a stooped back and unusually long arms. It moved oddly as well, and the skin was either pale or red, and it looked dirty somehow, despite the fact that there was no dirt on it (if you can't imagine it, think Golem…kind of).

It smiled slightly. Naru winced unconsciously. It came closer, and the smell filled his nostrils. He tried not to gag.

Suddenly its finger was tracing the cut on his arm. He felt completely repulsed and disgusted, but it didn't show on his face. The smile on its face grew.

Then it leapt at him, pinning him to the ground. He kicked out instinctively, but it didn't connect, and he thrashed, trying to throw the creature off. Claws raked at his skin, drawing fresh blood.

"Bleed… Bleed!"

Then his head hit a rock painfully and he lost consciousness.

* * *

Mai curled up into a ball underneath the covers, ignoring the pressing heat. She knew she couldn't sleep. She couldn't help thinking about Naru, where he might be…

He was alive, she knew it. He wouldn't die.

Suddenly she was on the landing, at the top of the stairs. Someone was downstairs, by the front door. She frowned and pouted. No, two people. She peered through the banisters.

Two young men stood there, talking quietly. Mai guessed them to be about 20.

Suddenly one of them grinned. And seized the other by his throat. He choked, fumbling for breath, but Mai saw his eyes close and the other one's grin widened. He laid the fresh corpse down on the ground.

And then she was gone, running away, unsure about what she'd just seen.

_Ani…_

* * *

**Ani sounds so much better than 'Older brother' :P**

**Thanks for reviews~ you people are the best :D**

**We're currently on holiday ;) but my sister still has school... *sigh* So we can get a lot more writing done.**

**Please review! I have to go now... I have a sink full of dirty dishes awaiting me TT_TT**


	10. Chapter 10

Morbid, Part 10

Mai woke up, legs tangled in the sheets, arms thrown clear. She sat up, yawning softly and stretching.

What time was it?

She stretched her arm out and reached for her watch.

About 11…

She paused, remembering her dream. What had that been all about? She'd better tell Naru-

Wait. She couldn't, could she? He was gone. She sighed unhappily, and got up, opening the curtains and letting the sun through. She heard Masako sigh in her sleep and Ayako mumble something along the lines of 'Why-did-I-have-to-have-the-bed-next-to-the-goddamn-window-It's-way-too-bright-Stupid-sun-I-hate-it…'

Breakfast was a quiet affair. Although Yasuhara made some jokes, there was some sort of glum atmosphere in the air, but maybe it was just the heat.

"We should split into groups again. That way we'll cover more ground."

Mai counted everyone on her fingers. "There's seven of us. There'll have to be a three."

Lin shook his head. "Not necessarily. I can probably go on my own."

"Are you sure that would be wise?"

"I've got my shiki. And…" He paused. "If it's got Naru then it'll probably be focusing on him, rather than on us."

"If you're sure…"

"I'll be fine. My shiki will help me if anything happens."

Mai nodded. Monk went with Yasuhara, Ayako with Masako and John with Mai.

"You never told me how Australia was, did you?" Mai asked.

"Oh. It was good." John smiled slightly.

"What's Australia like?"

"Er, hot, mostly. And dusty. Do you mean in the cities or in the plains?"

"The plains."

John started to describe Australia to Mai, both of them still keeping eyes on the scenery around them in case there was anything. When he'd finished, John checked his watch.

"Opps."

"What?"

"We were meant to be back at the house for lunch twenty minutes ago."

"Oh no! They're gonna be mad at us!"

They sprinted back as fast as they could, arriving in the dining room panting and out of breath.

"We're… (puff) sorry we (puff) didn't see (puff) the time… (puff)." Mai gasped, collapsing on the floor.

"Don't do that again! We were so worried; we thought something had happened to you two!"

"Sorry…"

Once John and Mai had caught their breath they started eating.

"Um, isn't Lin-san eating?" Mai asked.

"He already ate. He left about three minutes before you came back."

"Oh."

Lunch was even more silent than breakfast. No-one talked at all.

"We'll meet back here when it gets dark, okay? John, Mai, don't forget this time."

Mai and John set off through the forest. At first they could faintly hear Yasuhara and Monk's nervous laughter, but soon that faded away with the ever growing distance between them. The silence and heat were oppressive; Mai could feel her thin t-shirt sticking to her back. Brambles scratched at her bare legs.

She picked up a stick with which to battle the undergrowth when it tried to attack her, all the time keeping up a constant chatter with John, if only out of nervousness. They continued onwards, in no particular direction. The sunlight created a dappled effect on the ground, and the green leaves, stems and wilting wild flowers created a sad though pretty scene.

"Look, a path!" Mai had climbed up a tree to try to establish where they were. She was pointing excitedly a little distance ahead of them.

"Is it overgrown?" John asked cautiously, not giving into relief yet. He too was tired of the plants hindering their progress, and scratching at his face and clothes. Not to mention the scraps of leaf which had buried themselves in his hair.

"It's perfect." Mai said. They battled forwards with renewed vigour, until suddenly they were on it: a little track winding through the trees and round shrubs. It appeared that no one had been there for a while as grass was starting to grow and the forest was encroaching on it.

They paused. "Which way?" John asked.

"Er…Right." Mai said decidedly.

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. But I have a good feeling about it."

"Right it is then."

They set off, their spirits had risen considerably. The forest seemed almost picturesque from the path.

An hour passed. Mai was thirsty, and starting to overheat. The temperature made her feel sticky and uncomfortable.

"Mai." John had stopped dead in the middle of the path.

"What is it?" She asked, turning to him. He looked at her blankly and gestured up the path.

"I'm not sure…" She turned to look at the indistinct lump which just showed round the corner. She could feel apprehension rising from her stomach and she gripped her stick tightly. Slowly they advanced round the corner.

"Naru!" The stick was cast aside and Mai was kneeling next to him, inspecting him, touching his shirt gently to make sure he was real. John was on his other side, his face pulled into an expression of pity.

"Will you be alright on your own? I need to find the others, and get an ambulance." He said quickly, unsure of exactly what to do.

Mai nodded. "I'll be fine." John gave a quick answering nod and ran off in the direction they had come from. Mai watched him go until he was out of sight, then returned her attention to Naru.

He looked terrible. His skin was paler then usual and covered in cold sweat. His shirt was ripped in places and the skin was red underneath. His arms were grazed, and cuts criss-crossed his figure, some of which were quite deep.

She moved his hair out of his eyes. But it was clogged and crusted, not like she'd always imagined it would feel. She frowned.

In the silence of the forest something cracked. Mai spun round.

"John?" She asked hopefully, but inside her heart sank. Suddenly she wasn't on the ground, there was nothing supporting her and she was falling. A sharp pain seared through her back as she hit a tree. She fell like a doll.

She groaned. That's when she saw it.

"No! Get away from him!" She screamed, her hands forming the shapes Ayako had taught her as she spoke. She poured all of her very sudden anger into her chanting, growing louder and louder. The creature screamed as the cuts embedded themselves in it, forcing it back slightly. Mai stumbled to Naru's side.

The creature and her stared at each other. Then it pointed towards Naru, making a rasping sound which Mai guessed was supposed to be speech, but she couldn't understand any of it. She got the general message though.

"You can't have him. I won't let you!" She shouted at it, raising her hands again. It eyed them warily, but she didn't chant.

"What are you?" She asked.

"Wha arr oo?" It copied. Mai almost smiled. It was like a baby copying its mother.

"I'm Mai." She said slowly.

"I Mai." It tried. She shook her head and pointed to herself.

"Mai."

"Mai." It pointed to her. She nodded encouragingly. Then she pointed to it.

"You?" She asked.

"You." It repeated, pointing to itself. Mai smiled.

"No, what's your name?" She asked.

"Name?" It thought about this. "I no have name." It said slowly with gaps.

"Do you want a name?" She asked. It nodded, so she paused in thought.

From nowhere bright balls of light erupted and swirled around the creature. John started speaking, and she could hear Monk's deeper voice start to chant. Mai could see the confusion and pain in its eyes, and she couldn't help but call for them to stop. But by then it had fled anyway.

"Mai? Are you okay?" John asked, while Lin and Ayako rushed to Naru. It was then that she realised his cold hand was resting on her ankle. She looked down, to meet his blue eyes. He was looking at her with a mixture of shock and admiration, but the second passed and he closed his eyes.

* * *

(_italics=English_, normal=Japanese)

Monk entered base.

"Okay, Mai, it's your turn." He flopped onto the sofa. They had been taking it in turns to watch over Naru.

"Is he awake yet?" Ayako asked.

"Nah, still sleeping. He keeps on muttering stuff though." He said, trying not to laugh. They all looked at him suspiciously.

"What stuff?" Ayako asked. Monk just smiled.

"Well, I'll be back in an hour." Mai said, standing up. She made her way to his room. She quietly closed the door behind her, so as not to disturb him. She sat where Monk had left his chair next to the bed, and leaned against the wall.

"I'll have just water…" Naru murmured to himself. Mai sighed, and picked up the book Monk had left. Property of John, apparently.

"_No, Gene, I already told you I don't like it. (Pause) Gene, _stop it. How many _times do I have to say?" _Mai tried to concentrate on the plot, but she kept on being distracted by him.

"_No, I'm not going to tell Mai. Imagine her reaction." _Mai looked up as her heart beat faster. He had just said her name, right? She blushed.

"_And it's not fair on her." _He muttered. Mai returned to the book, she couldn't understand what he was saying. Not that that meant she wouldn't slyly listen in…

"Don't forget to tell Bou-san to exorcise the ground floor…" Mai rolled her eyes. He even dreamt about work?

"I'm sorry Gene. I just can't do it at the moment." He sighed and rolled over. Seeing as he didn't say anything she went back to reading.

"Mai?" She looked down, and it took a moment to register that he was looking at her.

"You're awake!" She said, smiling.

"I had noticed that."

"I was just happy for you. Jeez, no need to be so stressy." She muttered. "How do you feel?"

"Hot…" Mai reached out and put her hand on his forehead.

"God, you're boiling!" She exclaimed. Naru put his hand over hers, holding it there, and closed his eyes.

"Don't go."

"I won't." She smiled at him, though he couldn't see it. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

* * *

**Only Mai could have a conversation with a ghost after it just tried to kill Naru and possibly her :P**

**One day we'll stop picking on Naru. **

**Thanks for reviews! :3**

**~Please review~ ^^**


	11. Chapter 11

Morbid, Part 11

Mai twisted round in the darkness. "Gene?" She called.

"Mai there's being nice, and then there's being so nice you become stupid." Gene reprimanded her. He put his forehead in his hand.

"Hi to you too."

"Seriously Mai." Gene stood up. "He would have killed you without a second thought, and you stop to have a little chat?"

"But-"

"No buts. Promise me you won't do it again."

"No."

"But-"

"No buts Gene. How would I have gotten rid of him? He's too strong for me. I would have lost, he would have killed me and then he would have killed Naru."

"You should have more faith in yourself. You could have held him off until the others got there."

"We both know that's not true."

"You're stronger than you think." Gene sighed.

"I can't go back and change it, so there's no point arguing." Mai pointed out. There was a silence. "So what am I seeing this time?"

"I can't even be bothered anymore to remind you that I don't show you the dreams…"

"Whatever."

Gene sighed and the dream swam into focus.

A young girl was playing with a doll's house. Mai instantly recognised it as the same doll's house that stood in base. A dark shadow passed over her, someone was approaching the girl. Mai instantly wanted to cry out, to warn the girl, to get her to run away, but she knew she couldn't do anything. The shadow advanced, she could see it was the young man from her last dream, the one who'd killed. In his hand there was something that would safely fall into the category 'Blunt Instrument'.

In an instant, Mai knew what he was going to do.

"No…" She couldn't help murmuring. Gene carefully turned her so she wasn't watching anymore, but she could still hear the crunch as the object smashed into her skull.

* * *

"You had a dream?"

Mai nodded sheepishly. "Well, two…"

"Two? What was the first one?"

"In the first one I think I was a small girl."

"Godo Izumi?"

"I don't know. Maybe. Probably. Anyway, I was at the top of the stairs and there were two men downstairs, near the front door. They were talking really quietly, and I couldn't hear what they were saying. Then one of them strangled the other, and I ran away then. But I remember thinking 'ani' as I ran away."

There was a pause.

"So one of the men was the girl's older brother." Monk said finally. "Which one?"

Mai shook her head. "I don't know."

"Right. So, either Godo-san saw her brother being murdered and it turned her into a dangerous psychopath, or she saw her brother murdering someone and it turned her into a dangerous psychopath." Yasuhara concluded with surprising cheerfulness.

"The former sounds the most likely." Monk agreed, nodding his head.

"No, wait! In my second dream, she was killed by the same person who murdered the other man. I don't really think she had time to become a 'dangerous psychopath'."

"Still, I think we can presume she was killed because she saw the murder."

"I know! She saw her brother being killed… so she was killed… and then, unable to forget about her brother's death and influenced by others around her, she becomes a dangerous psychopath!"

"But what would be her motivation to kidnap people and kill them?" Mai protested. Yasuhara's theory felt slightly off, like he'd got it wrong but the answer was staring them in the face.

"She's a dangerous psychopath. She doesn't need motivation."

"Still-"

"Okay, you can go and tell Naru! Go go go!"

"Hey, why me?"

"Because it's your dream, and he always wakes up when you're around!"

"He does _not_ always wake up whe-!" Mai never got to finish her sentence due to the fact that Monk had just pushed her out into the corridor.

"See you later Mai-chan!" Monk quickly waved before shutting the door. Mai sighed, and set off to Naru's room.

She cautiously opened the door, almost as though she was expecting something to jump out on her. Lin looked up.

"Has he woken up?" Mai asked softly.

Lin shook his head. "Not yet." He got up and left, leaving Mai alone with the still sleeping Naru. She sighed frustratedly. How was she meant to him about her dream if he wasn't even conscious?

He shivered, his sleeping body curling up and pulling the covers closer. She eyed him with pity before opening the book and reading.

Mai looked up, studying her boss, when his eyelids fluttered. They opened, looking around before settling on her.

"Mai…?"

She couldn't help jumping up and rushing to his side, scolding herself inside for doing so. "How do you feel?"

He struggled to sit up, so she helped him, even though she wasn't sure it was wise for him to be sitting up. His head was hurting and his fingers reached up, straying to a point on the side of his head which was hurting more than the rest of his head.

"No, don't! It wouldn't be good if it started bleeding again." She smiled at him. "It would be annoying if we would have to wash your hair again."

"My hair?"

"It got all stuck to the wound and it got all clotted with blood. It was a bit gross." She confessed.

"Thanks Mai." He said sarcastically. She couldn't suppress a giggle.

"So, how do you feel?" She asked again, feeling considerably more cheerful.

"Cold, currently. And my head hurts and various parts of my body ache, but other than that I'm fine."

"Oh."

He laid back down, unconsciously burying himself in the warm sheets.

"I had a dream…" She said, watching his face. She described both her dreams to him, his expression never changing. When she finished there was silence.

"Naru?"

"What?"

"What do you think?"

"Obviously, Godo Izumi isn't the one attacking people."

"Oh. That's what it was…"

"What was?"

"Er, nothing. So who do you think is the one attacking people?"

"I don't know." He suddenly started kicking back the sheets. "I'm hot." He complained, sighing with satisfaction once the covers were bunched up around his feet.

"Do you want anything?" Mai asked.

"Something cold…" Mai looked round the room. Unfortunately there was a complete lack of cold objects. Everything was heated by the sunlight streaming through the window. Naru raised his eyebrows.

"Give me your hand." He reached out. Mai blushed, but hesitantly did as he said. "You're so cold."

Mai was unsure how to react to that piece of information. She rested her head on her arms; she could feel her eyelids slowly closing…

* * *

"Yo Mai!" Mai woke with a start.

"Bou-san!" She cried, glaring at him.

"Shh! Naru-chan's still sleeping." Monk glanced at him, his lips curving upwards.

"You didn't have to wake me up." Mai yawned.

"Well, you were three hours late…"

"But still."

"Yeah I know. We just missed you that much."

"You're terrible." Mai sniffed. Monk grinned.

"Anyway, do you want me to take over?"

"What?" Mai had discovered that she had pillow marks running down her arms, and was studying the patterns.

"I'll stay here. You can go back to base."

"No, it's okay-"

"Nah, I wanted to finish that book John left." He smiled reassuringly. Mai hesitated before nodding.

"Okay then." Mai tried to get up, but something was restricting her process. She looked down, and was aghast to see that she and Naru were still holding hands. She quickly detangled their fingers, and glared at Monk, who was stifling laughter, but turned when Naru gave a violent shiver. She sighed, pulling up the covers around him.

"Don't worry, he'll get better."

"I know…"

With one last glance, Mai left the room.

"Mai…"

She looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

"Mai…"

"John?" She asked, hoping against hope that it was him. She spun around. The corridor was too silent. She tilted her head, focusing on a point right at the end of the corridor. Slowly she advanced her hands raised.

She froze. She knew what was round the corner. She was torn… Her foot hovered in the air.

"Naumaku sanmanda BAZARADAN KAN!" Monk ran up from behind her. Mai froze. Suddenly she was angry. Very angry.

"Why did you do that?" She asked quietly. Monk stared at her.

"Because it's evil and you're prone to being attacked, dummy." Monk gave her a weird look.

"I didn't need your… help." She muttered. Monk frowned.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

"No I am not okay. I was going to speak to him, and then you come along and send him away! Next time could you not _save me from attack_ please?" She gave him a glare, and then stalked down the corridor, leaving an extremely baffled Monk alone in the middle of the corridor. He shook his head and returned to Naru's room.

* * *

**A short chapter... ish. but never mind, there'll be lots of exciting stuff next time... (meaning, someone is gonna get attacked, basically)**

**Thanks for reviews, please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter is dedicated to Ariana Taniyama, for making us feel guilty :(**

* * *

Morbid

Chapter 12

-2 Days Later-

Mai hummed as she waited for the water to boil. She was in a good mood, partly because it had rained yesterday breaking the chain of humid and sticky days, and Naru was up and about. Okay, mostly because Naru was up and about.

Mai poured the water into two teapots and grabbed the tray. She had been sent on a massive tea order as everyone was waiting for Masako, and clearly that demanded a cup of tea. Once she had got to base she handed out the cups, before curling up on the sofa.

"When's Masako going to come?" She squeaked.

"When she's ready, obviously." Mai scowled.

"I know, but-" She was cut off by the entrance of Masako. They walked to the next room, which was already set up. The large table had a mixed assortment of chairs around it. On the table there was a candle and a stick of incense burning, the only light in the room coming from the candle. Masako sat at one end, closing her eyes. Several moments passed, no-one saying anything. Then she lowered her head.

"Godo-san, are you there?" Naru asked.

"…Yes."

"Do you know how you died?"

She shook her head.

"You were murdered. A blow to the back of the head."

She gasped, tears starting to form.

"I-I was…?" She mumbled.

"What happened to your brother?"

She frowned slightly. "He was taken away. I don't know where or why. And before that he was always locked in his room. "

"What was your brother's name?"

"Noboru… Godo Noboru."

Naru paused and nodded, satisfied with the information. Then he spoke again, his voice deathly quiet but still clear.

"I also presume that you are unaware that your brother was the one that killed you."

Masako gasped. "W-what? No, no." She shook her head. "No, you're wrong. You're wrong!" Tears formed in her eyes.

Naru said nothing.

"You're wrong! It can't be true… Ani would never do that!" She cried out, looking from each person to the next as though asking them to say it wasn't true. Suddenly Masako collapsed sideways off the chair. Immediately Mai and John jumped up to help her.

"Are you okay?" Ayako asked. Masako groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

"My head really hurts. What happened?" She asked. But she was barely heard over the loud knocking sounds coming from all over the room. The candle on the table went out with a hiss plunging them into complete darkness.

There was an odd sound, which sounded like rocks breaking, but much quieter. Mai's stomach twisted.

"We need to get out!" She shouted, but was only heard by Masako and John.

"Right." He nodded, pulling Masako up gently. Suddenly the lights came on, blinding them. The room lurched.

Mai's arms tingled in anticipation and her heart beat suddenly increased. She saw that everyone else was looking around uncertainly, and were holding their arms out. She caught Naru's eye and gestured that they had to leave ASAP. But then the lights started flickering, which made her eyes water and created the effect that everyone was moving jerkily.

Instinctively she looked up at the ceiling. A long crack grew spasmodically. Without warning there was a loud crunch. Everybody turned to look at the hole in the wall that had appeared next to Ayako.

"Great." Mai muttered. She edged towards the door, but the room lurched again with a loud creaking sound. She froze.

The floor fell from them, making her feel weightless for a nanosecond, before the ceiling came thudding down.

* * *

Monk coughed. He was covered in dust and splinters of wood, which made him want to sneeze. Something cold was pressing down on his sore shoulders.

"Owwww." He pushed it off him, before he realised that it was part of the ceiling. Well, ex-ceiling. He surveyed the room. Other bits of ceiling were stirring around him, and he could hear groans and coughs.

He pulled a broken chunk off a patch next to him to reveal Ayako's unconscious face. Something had struck her a glancing blow to her forehead, and her wound was bleeding freely. Sighing he started to shift more of the ceiling.

Lin was already standing up searching in the rubble, but he seemed completely unharmed, though dirty. Masako was sitting next to John, who had a long, shallow scratch down his cheek. Yasuhara appeared moments later in one of the corners. Voices circulated the room checking everyone was ok, only Lin was silent, diligently over turning rubble.

"Mai?" Monk called, looking around. There was no answer. Soon the calls echoed through the room.

"I'm here!" Came a muffled voice. A tiny hand crept through a gap and waved. Soon the area was excavated and Mai was found. Her legs were trapped under the table, but other than that she was fine. As was Naru who was lying next to her. He blinked twice then slowly sat up.

Mai winced. "Could you…?"She asked, gritting her teeth. Jubilant now that everyone was accounted for, the group moved the table quickly.

That's when they noticed the not-so-pleased-looking Shirai family looking on with open mouths at their suddenly much taller room. And the grey beings making their way carefully across the floor. Masako and John were supporting Mai, whose legs felt sore and ached when she put her weight on them, while Monk had picked Ayako up and was carrying her to the door.

"Woah. Careful Naru. Are you okay?" Yasuhara asked, after watching him stumble and almost fall. The entire procession to the exit stopped to turn and look.

"I'm fine." Naru's jaw clenched, and he fixed Yasuhara with a ferocious glare.

"Ok, ok, just asking…" He muttered, in a 'please don't hurt me' tone of voice.

"Naru…" Lin was advancing, and though he didn't sound it, there was definitely something threatening about him.

"I'm fine Lin." He looked away, and though Lin didn't look convinced he dropped it. As though to prove it Naru walked towards base as though nothing had happened. Lin sighed, but followed, leaving the others to explain how the three rooms had merged into one.

Eventually they were all clean and changed (and, in Ayako's case, bandaged), and all sitting in base sipping a steaming cup of tea.

"So what now?" Monk asked, as they sat listening to the faint knocks still coming from different areas in the house.

"Izumi is becoming a danger. We need to get rid of her."

"Not an exorcism?" Mai gasped out. No matter what had happened, the little girl did not deserve to be destroyed, especially as it was Naru's fault she got angry and became a danger. Naru shut his eyes.

"No. We'll just help her pass on." For a moment Mai thought she saw a spark of pity in his eyes, but it was covered straight away. Maybe Naru did have a heart…

"I can do that." Ayako volunteered. Everyone looked at her. "Have you seen the size of the wood here?"

"Point taken." Yasuhara nodded.

"Well, if that's it, I'm going to go to bed." Monk stood up. Seeing as Naru didn't object the rest of them stood up and left too.

* * *

Mai gasped. She stared at the ceiling above her bed with relief. For some reason she felt heartbroken, and it was something to do with her dream. She could distinctly remember that she'd had one, but she couldn't remember what it was. And it was one of _those_ dreams too, she could remember Gene's unhappy face as he apologised.

She reached out, and her mobile lit up in the dark room, illuminating the sleeping forms of Ayako and Masako. 8 o'clock. The suppressed an angry growl. Why did her dreams always have to wake her up early, but too late to go back to bed?

As per usual she got up and crept into base. She barely registered Lin's worried glance and Naru's unreadable one, but flopped onto the couch muttering about her stupid spirit guide trying to over exhaust her.

Lin sent Naru a nano glance (1). Naru sighed, but got the message.

"Mai…" He started. He was, to be honest, a bit surprised when she rounded on him.

"And you can tell your brother to start waking me up at a reasonable time!" She scowled.

"You can tell him yourself. You had a dream." It wasn't exactly a question, but it was more than a statement. Mai folded her arms.

"Well, I think so…"

"You think so?" This was a first.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I did. But I don't remember it! All I know is that it was sad and Gene's sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"I don't know!" She fumed. Naru cleared his throat. This was not what he wanted to talk about.

"I know, I know, I'll go get your tea." Mai misinterpreted. She stood up and was out the door in a flash. Lin raised his eyebrows (2). Naru narrowed his eyes, but got that message too, and stood up to follow her.

"I wasn't going to ask for tea." He said once he'd caught up.

"Oh." Mai pouted, realising she'd wasted her energy.

"But now we're going to the kitchen, tea." He ordered. Mai narrowed her eyes.

"What did you want then?"

"I shouldn't have to remind you that you're not to go anywhere on your own."

"Javol Herr Davis, but I wasn't going to wake up the others."

"You didn't have to come to base." Naru pointed out.

"You can blame your heartless twin for that."

"I didn't realise he tells you to go to base as soon as you wake." Naru raised an eyebrow.

"Well, no, but-"

"So it is, in fact, your fault."

"Yeah but-"

"Seeing as you could have stayed in your room until someone else got up."

"_Yes _but-"

"Am I right?"

Mai sighed. "You know you are. Stop rubbing it in my face."

"You gave me an opportunity."

"Narcissistic jerk."

Luckily she was saved from talking to him (sure Mai…) as they had got to the kitchen. Naru frowned. He had gotten distracted from his original message _again_. He decided to use his normal tactic: being incredibly blunt.

"Make sure that you're always with someone."

Mai flicked the kettle on.

"Why?"

"For your protection." Naru raised two perfect eyebrows.

"No, I meant, why me especially?"

"Because you're most likely to be targeted."

Mai got the impression that there was more, but he wasn't going to tell her. She gasped as realisation dawned on her.

"This-this is because of Bou-san isn't it?" She said quietly. When he didn't reply she continued anyway. "Because he tried to speak to me."

"_He_ is mentally ill Mai."

"And he's also lonely! Because people like you keep on trying to hurt him, and stop people like me from giving him his name!"

Naru again was silent.

"I promised him Naru!" She banged her fist on the counter, upsetting the precariously balanced kettle (it just so happened, what with Mai's luck, that the base of the kettle was broken, which made it wonky). She jumped and yelped as boiling water poured all over her hand. Tears stung her eyes.

"Mai, you idiot…" Naru muttered as he grabbed her arm and thrust her hand under the cold water tap.

"Owww." Her anger had evaporated due to the pain. "Why me?" To which Naru had no answer. Slightly subdued now Mai poured what was left of the water into the cups and grabbed the tray. Silently they made their way back to base. Lin glanced up, saw it was them, and returned to his laptop (3).

Mai handed him his tea, before sitting on the sofa with her own. The warm drink made her eyelids feel heavy, she didn't notice when the door opened and shut with a loud creak.

"Mai?"

"Gene!" She grinned.

"You're bac… I mean, long time no see!"

"Give it up Gene, I know I had a dream last night." Mai rolled her eyes. Gene sighed.

"I do have a reason."

"I'm sure you do." There was a pause.

"So, what are you showing me now?" Mai asked.

"I don't show you anything, remember?"

"Yeah, but it's always like you do show me." Mai said, but she realised that Gene wasn't listening to her. He was staring over her left shoulder.

"Gene?" She asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Mai, wake up. Now!" He whispered.

"Why?" She asked, and turned around. Her eyes widened.

"N-Naru?"

* * *

**Translation of Lin's micro-language:  
(1) – Go and talk to her then.  
(2) – That was pathetic.  
(3) – You took your time…**

* * *

**Well, the ceiling kind of attackd them all. And the day we stop picking on Naru evidently isn't today.**

Ohh! And if anyone's American, can you tell me what a s'more is? Thanks ^^

**Thanks to everyone who reviwed.**

**Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

Morbid, Chapter 13

Naru ignored Mai. He seemed to be looking intently at Gene.

Mai's heart was pounding in her chest.

No… it couldn't be… He, he…

Only those who could astral project could appear on a plane. Either that or you had to be dead.

Naru couldn't astral project.

Which meant…

No, that couldn't be right. He couldn't, it didn't make sense.

"Mai. You've got to wake up _now_." Gene's voice broke her out of her thoughts. She nodded. Gene ran towards his brother and hugged him, who hugged him back.

Then Mai woke up.

* * *

She sat up and scanned base.

Naru… where was Naru? He wasn't here. Lin gave her an odd look.

"Lin, where's Naru?"

"He went to talk to Shirai Soh." Mai shook her head. Not good enough. She needed his exact location. The doll's house!

She leapt up from the sofa and ran the doll's house.

"Taniyama-san, is something wrong?"

"Something really bad's happened to Naru!" Her eyes searched every corner, every nook and cranny for the little Naru doll. There was Shirai Soh… alone. Where was Naru? There. She ran as quick as she could, sprinting down corridors. She could hear the slow footsteps as the people in base got up to follow her. But by the time they had got up she had taken a turn and they didn't know where she'd gone.

She saw him. Her heart almost stopped. She skidded to a halt and practically threw herself at him.

"Get up! Get up…" She whispered, shaking his shoulder. He was lying on his side, his eyes were closed so it looked like he was sleeping. Except that he should have woken up by now. She rolled him onto his back. No pulse, no breathing. She spotted his red and raw neck and felt winded. Tears welled in her eyes.

"NO!" She shouted, immediately rocking onto her knees. She was not losing him, not after all this time. She put her hands on his chest and pushed as hard as she could. After thirty she paused, but he didn't respond. She pinched his nose and covered his mouth with hers, breathing for him. She returned to compressing.

Suddenly he convulsed and Mai jumped back as he coughed.

"Naru! Thank God!" She sobbed and hugged him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Hesitantly one arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. He closed his eyes.

Mai felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Taniyama-san." A voice said quietly. Mai looked up at Lin through her tears. "He needs some space." He said, not unkindly. Mai nodded, and stood up. She looked down at him, and felt a slight panic as her heart constricted.

"He's just sleeping." Lin said soothingly, and Mai realised her thoughts must be written across her face. She blushed.

"I don't want to move him until I have help. Could you get the others?" Seeing her worried glance towards Naru he smiled slightly. "I'll stay with him. He'll be fine." Again Mai nodded and ran off. Lin looked at his charge and sighed.

"And you call her an idiot." He muttered.

Mai ran into Ayako, who jumped. She was about to say something but then she caught sight of Mai's exhausted, tear stained face.

"Why are you crying?" She asked, immediately drawing her into a hug, and fearing the worst.

"Because I'm so happy." Mai tried to smile, but just burst into a fresh set of tears. The others glanced at each other.

"Mai… what happened?" Monk asked in confusion.

"He's alive! He was dead, and then-" She coughed and sniffed. "He's alive!"

"Mai, slow down, who's alive?" Ayako asked, while John handed her a tissue. She pulled back and looked at Ayako in disbelief.

"Naru, of course."

"That's a relief." Yasuhara sighed as the group collectively let out the breath they'd been holding. They started to question Mai, until Ayako shouted at them.

"Lin-san said that he needs your help…" Mai squeaked out, pulling Ayako with her through the corridors. The others looked surprised, but didn't comment. Eventually, after Mai took a wrong turn, they found him. They moved him to the nearest room, where Ayako produced her professional opinion.

"He needs to sleep it off. Until he wakes up he must not be disturbed." She said looking at Mai, Monk and Yasuhara in particular. Mai blushed, while Monk and Yasuhara looked taken aback.

"When have I ever disturbed Naru's sleep?"Yasuhara asked in a mortally wounded voice.

"Yeah, same?" Monk asked.

"I don't trust you (she looked at Monk here) and I wouldn't put anything past you." Ayako pointed out folding her arms.

"Fair dos." Yasuhara shrugged.

"I'll keep first watch." John volunteered, glad to escape the new argument Ayako and Monk were having. Which, as is normal, ended when Ayako gave Monk one almighty whack round the head.

"Maybe you should go to bed too." Ayako suggested to Mai, dusting her hands while Monk rubbed his skull.

"That's ok. I'm fine." Mai said, smiling. It won't surprise anyone to find that as soon as she sat down on the couch in base her head rested on Monk's shoulder and she fell asleep.

* * *

Everything was ready. SPR stood gathered on the lawn around a venerable sakura tree. It was about a metre wide, and had apparently been two trees, but they had grown round each other so that it was impossible to say where one stopped and the other began. Mai finished tying the last charm to a branch. Then she moved back to Naru's side.

Ayako stepped forward. She stood in front of the tree and took a deep breath. She needed to somehow cleanse the girl without the brother coming too. Hence the charms of concealment. Hopefully they would hold.

She put the branch in the ground and hung the bell from it. She started chanting slowly. Mai felt a slight chill as two spirits slipped from their trees. But she could tell that they were harmless. Then she felt it. It was like a slight change in the air. She shivered and looked around.

The tiny girl was standing a few metres behind them. She looked nervous, but when she caught sight of the tree spirits she moved forward more purposefully. The group held their breath subconsciously, but there was no sign that Noboru was coming.

There was a tinkle that brought Mai back to reality. Ayako had gently swung the branch round, and the girl gently dissolved into the air. Ayako put the branch back into the soil. After giving her thanks to the tree spirits they also disappeared.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy." Yasuhara commented cheerfully. The others gave him a look. "Oh, right, sorry. I meant, that was extremely difficult."

Monk rolled his eyes. "At least we've just got one left. So nothing will collapse on or under us. Hopefully."

"Why did you use such an old tree?" Mai asked. Ayako looked grim.

"I had to, just in case the other one came." They made their way across the garden and back into the house.

"Ah, it's too hot to be in these clothes. I'm going to change into something decent." Ayako exclaimed. She made her way towards the bedrooms.

Monk immediately jumped onto the sofa in base. Mai was about to follow suit when a cold voice stopped her.

"Mai, tea." It wasn't the sharp order it used to be, but it wasn't quite a request either, although part of that was probably due to the fact his voice was slightly croaky and raspy. Mai sighed but didn't complain or grumble. Their relationship had shifted slightly since Naru's death and consequent resuscitation, but how Mai couldn't quite pin down. It wasn't that he was grateful to her, as such, but he seemed to respect her more. But not respect her more, it was more that…

Well, whatever it was, Mai didn't have the capacity to describe it. Either way, it seemed that though Mai tried, she couldn't just ignore what had happened.

A scream pierced her thoughts. She froze. Ayako.

Feet thundered towards her room. The door flew open. To reveal Ayako sat on the floor, twisting round to try and move the heap of objects covering her legs. Around her more were spread.

"I saw him. He was just there!" She cried out, pointing to where Yasuhara was now standing. "And then the shelves collapsed." She added, explaining the mess. John and Monk helped her up.

"Are you hurt?" Mai asked anxiously.

"No, I'm fine. Just bruised." She bent down to tidy up.

"Hara-san, stay with Matsuzaki-san. Mai…"

"I know, I know. Tea." She turned to walk out the door. "Bou-san! I don't think she wants you around if she's going to be changing." She reminded him. He was brought back to reality quickly and followed the others out of the room.

"Naru-chan's been drinking a lot of tea lately." Monk commented.

"I know. My feet are starting to ache."

"So…" Monk started, with the voice of someone who's about to make things awkward. "Has he said thanks yet?"

"No."

"But you saved his life!"

"Yeah, but it's Naru."

"Someone ought to teach him some manners." Monk growled.

"It's alright. I don't mind, really." She lied. In fact she did feel a little stung, but she guessed Naru had his pride.

"Well you should." Monk sighed. "He's starting to take you for granted."

"Honestly, I don't mind."

"You're too nice."

"I know."

"And modest, too." He patted her head.

"I know. I'm perfect, right?"

"Mai, Naru's rubbed off on you. Next your ego will swell so it's much bigger than it should be."

"Nah… I'd prefer to stay the way I am, thanks." She grinned. "Shall we go?"

"No, I'd thought that we should stay in the kitchen forever."

"Oh well, you can if you want." She said innocently, walking out with the tea.

"Hey, wait up!" He protested.

* * *

"Gene."

He turned.

"Mai."

She launched herself at him and hugged him. "We saved him!" She cried happily.

"Mai, _you_ saved him."

"But if it hadn't been for you-"

"You're still the one who saved him."

"Why him? I thought the ghost was after me, especially as I talked to him."

Gene sighed. "Noll is the thorn in the ghost's side."

"Oh." She said as her brain worked it out. Or bits of it, at least. By now they were both sitting on the floor.

"I just wish he'd be happier…" Mai blinked.

"Naru isn't happy?" She asked. Gene looked awkward. She crawled closer. "Gene, why isn't Naru happy?" Gene backed away. "Gene, tell me." She pouted cutely.

Gene suddenly sighed in defeat. He was already dead so Noll couldn't do anything… "Noll's in love." He said conclusively. He might as well tell. Maybe then something would finally happen…

She stared at him open-mouthed for a few seconds. "What?"

"Don't look so surprised." He scolded.

"What?" She repeated, while her brain tried to catch up and sort out this new news. "Naru's _in love_? You're joking, right? I mean, is it even _possible_ for him to _fall in love_?"

"Mai, he _is_ human. Wasn't it Madoka who told you he wasn't a robot? Well, it's true. If you cut him open you'll find organs, not wires."

"But…" Mai'd never thought Naru was capable of love. It seemed too human for him. "I thought love was a happy emotion."

"Not always. He thinks that the girl he loves loves someone else."

"Does she?" Mai asked quietly.

He didn't reply, instead just looked at her with an odd look in his eyes which she couldn't decipher. A bit like he was waiting for her to get the message, but nothing was clicking.

"Anyway, being in love makes his life a lot more confusing." He sighed, after working out she wasn't getting the message. Seriously…

Mai curled her arms around her knees. Stupid Naru. He just had to go and fall in love with someone else, didn't he, when she'd been hoping and waiting all these years for him to view her as something more than an assistant. It was depressing enough to make her sick.

"Is she pretty?" Mai asked so quietly that Gene almost didn't hear her. He smiled, but why, she didn't get.

"Very."

* * *

**Hmm, I guess this took a while. Cass certainly thought so, *ahem* not that she would *ahem* complain about it ONLINE! Grrrr... *gnashes teeth* Will get payback somehow... mwahaha!  
She's lucky we've got stuff to distract us. OMG new series of dr who XD we're not at all childlike... **

**Oh, and we were watching The Matrix the other day, and we thought this should SO go like this...**

Suddenly he convulsed and Mai jumped back as he coughed.

"Naru! Thank God!" Mai cried. Naru looked at her, and stood up slowly. He flexed, and the building flexed with him.

"My name... is Neo."

**Just a thought. Please reveiw! ^^**


	14. Chapter 14

Morbid, Chapter 14

"Mai,-" Monk started.

"What?" She jumped.

"What are you doing?"

She'd been writing on a piece of paper for some time now, and occasionally she would pause and think, chewing the end of the pen and staring at nothing in particular.

"Nothing." She covered the scrap of paper with her hands.

"Can I see?"

"No." It was private, and would probably be embarrassing if it ended up in someone else's hands. She folded it and put it in her back pocket, her cheeks slightly pink.

"Mai, tea." Naru called. He was trying to find the information that had been ripped out of the file. And was not succeeding, which really annoyed him. He scowled. However his features relaxed when the door opened and Mai was in front of him with a much needed cup of tea. He resumed his scowl when Mai didn't give up the cup, she was instead gripping it as though her life depended on it.

"Mai." He growled in a dangerous voice. Reluctantly she gave him the cup, but she hovered, watching him drink anxiously.

"Is it alright?" She asked apprehensively. He glanced at her. She was chewing her lip subconsciously.

"Yes." He couldn't quite mask the surprise in his voice. Normally she cursed him because of his 'addiction' to tea, and threatened to poison him one day with it. Her face contorted into a mixture of relief and suspicion. He frowned. Something was going on, and he didn't understand it. Then again, he didn't understand a lot of things to do with Mai.

And it wasn't like he was going to ask her.

So he returned to his damaged file, while Mai returned to the sofa.

"Are you okay?" Ayako asked.

"What?"

"I said, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Mai said, but her usual reassuring smile was replaced with a thoughtful expression. The others glanced at each other. Something had happened, and they weren't going to let it rest until they knew what exactly had caused the change in Mai.

Naru shut the file with an air of disappointment and turned to his team. "We will try to exorcise the brother as soon as possible. Preferably tonight." He wanted this case to be over quickly. The were mixed grumblings, but the others felt the same way. It had dragged on way too long and was posing too much of a danger risk.

"Uh, isn't he a demon?" John asked. Naru paused for a nanosecond.

"Not quite yet."

"But is he exorcisable?"

Another pause. "Probably."

"It's not like Naru's gonna walk away from a half completed job." Monk pointed out.

"What if we can't exorcise it?" John continued.

"Then we'll have to leave. And so will the family." Naru said calmly, as though they were discussing the weather rather than a possible-demon that was out to kill them. He opened his file again, glanced over the pieces of loose paper on the table in front of him, and continued with his work.

* * *

Naru was confused, to say the least. For a start Mai almost smiled every time he ordered her to go make tea, and then she had even asked him about his time in England. About whether he had enjoyed it or not, of all things. He had replied with a usual noncommittal answer, to which Mai responded by looking sad and walking away as fast as she could.

If only Gene was here. He would know how to figure it all out. Little did he know that Gene was the cause of his dilemma.

Mai, on the other hand, was having no problem finding people who wanted to work things out. Both Ayako and Monk were pestering her, so much so that she had gotten annoyed and tried to leave base, only to be stopped by Yasuhara, who was holding up a crumpled bit of paper.

"Mai, what's this?" He asked. Mai's cheeks flamed.

"N-nothing." She stuttered.

"Would this be the same 'nothing' that you were working on earlier?" Monk asked, gently pulling the paper out of Yasuhara's hands.

"No…" She tried, knowing full well that they'd never believe her. She reached out to grab it, but he held it far out of her arm's reach. Monk unfolded the scrap of paper, and read, his eyebrows slowly rising.

It said:

Naru's dream girl

She is very pretty.

She is English.

She makes him tea.

She works with him.

She doesn't swoon over him.

She is very clever.

She respects him.

She probably is a workaholic like him.

She isn't a fan girl.

She doesn't annoy him.

She isn't useless.

He held his hand out for a pen, and she hesitantly picked one up from the table and handed it to him. He scribbled some more things on it and gave it back to her. She read the new note.

"No, I think she'd be English, not Japanese. It makes more sense. And she _could_ be a workaholic. If she was a slacker it wouldn't work-"

"She doesn't have to be a slacker or a workaholic." He pointed out.

"Okay then, but why did you cross out 'She doesn't annoy him'?"

"Because she does."

"Explain." He didn't explain, instead looked at her in an annoyingly similar way to the way Gene had looked at her last night. What was this thing that she was meant to get?

"Add 'She has psychic powers' to the list." Yasuhara said from somewhere behind Mai. She jumped. Where had he come from? …Hell…Mystic portal…

"And replace 'She isn't useless' with 'She always helps us'." Ayako added.

"Er, I suppose she could have psychic powers." She said, ignoring Ayako. She looked surprised when the others burst out laughing. She scowled. So much for this list being private. She may as well blu tack it to the wall. Why why why?

Naru ignored the laughter coming from base, and focused on the mirror in front of him.

"Come on Gene…" He muttered.

'_What's up?'_

…

'_Come on, you can tell me…'_

Naru looked away. _Well, it's about Mai._

'_About time!' _Naru's eyes narrowed slightly.

_About time what? She's being… unusual._

'_Unusual? Noll, most girls are 'unusual' to you.'_

_No, I mean she's not acting herself._

'_Ah.' _Something about the way he said it made Naru think that Gene knew what he was going to say. _'She's sad, isn't she?'_

_You know already._

'_Well, yeah… But you want to know why suddenly she'd so sad, right?'_

_Yes. If I didn't want to, I would be focusing on my work right now. You know what's going on, I presume._

'_With the ghost? Yeah.'_

_No, I meant with Mai. _Naru's eyes narrowed even more. Gene was being purposely aloof. _'What did you do?_

'_Me? I didn't do anything.'_

_Liar_

'_Alright, but it wasn't that bad…'_

_What did you do?_

'_Told her you're in love.'_ Gene said innocently.

Naru choked. Several minutes later, when Naru had finished coughing (which hurt a lot more nowadays) and recovered from the shock he glared at the mirror.

_You did WHAT?_

'_You heard me. Look at her. She's sad because I told her that you're in love and she's jealous.'_

_Gene, that doesn't make sense._

'_It does. She thinks that you're in love with someone else so she's sad. For some reason she hasn't clicked yet that you're in love with her, even though I thought I made it quite obvious…'_

_No, Gene, she's in love with you._

'_If she was, do you think she'd be so sad?'_

Naru didn't say anything for several moments. Gene could tell he was winning.

_You could be lying_. Naru eventually said.

'_Right. Let's play a game called 'Trust Your Twin'…'_

_Gene. _

'_Seriously. How could you believe I would lie?'_ Gene pretended to be mortally wounded. Naru sighed.

_I can't believe you actually…_

'_I can't believe you actually think she's in love with me. Now, get a grip on yourself and do something about it.'_

Naru sighed and turned away from the mirror and examined the backs of his hands.

_Why did you tell her?_

'_Because you weren't going to.'_

_Thanks for your faith in me._

'_Noll, I know you. I'm not completely stupid. How long did it take you to realise you loved her? Um… Oh let me see…'_

_Shut up._

'_Alright, but I'm just trying to get you to actually tell her. You know she loves you, so what's taking you so long? Don't tell me you're scared of rejection?'_

_Gene…_

'_Alright, alright. I'll go away. Humph. But unless you want Mai to permanently be sad, you should tell her.'_

Naru grimaced. His life had just got that much more complicated. He knew Gene had left already, so he turned and walked out, thinking deeply. In the corridor he passed a small brunette.

"Mai?"

"Naru? You shouldn't be walking around on your own. What if something happens to you?"

"I'll be fine. Lin sent a shiki." He said. "What about you?"

"I'm just going to the bathroom." She almost smiled for a second, but then her expression turned sad. "Why did you come back? To Japan, I mean." She asked quietly.

He was slightly surprised at the question. "When compared to England, there is more spiritual activity here. And in England, most of the ghosts seem to be white or grey ladies wandering corridors at night."

His answer seemed to only sadden her more. She nodded slightly, and then turned and walked away.

He could have gone after her then.

But he didn't.

He could have told her.

But he didn't.

He walked the other way.

Later, he would hate himself for doing that.

* * *

Mai didn't go the bathroom. The urge to pee had been replaced by the even bigger urge to cry, and once she was round the corner and gone from sight she started running. She ran to her room and flung herself onto her bed and wept and wept, trying to muffle the howls of anguish that she wanted to let out.

She knew it was stupid. She knew he'd only come back for work.

But she still could hope that she'd been missed, right?

It would have been okay if he'd said he'd come back because her tea was better than the tea in England.

Then at least _something_ had been missed, even if it was only her tea.

But he hadn't said that. She hadn't been missed. At all.

And now, she couldn't stop crying. She'd opened a set of floodgates deep within her, and they would only close once the flood had been let loose.

It hurt, a dull ache that refused to go away.

There was nothing but a few ghosts stopping Naru leaving Japan. Forever. Only a few ghosts stopping him from going to that stupid girl who he'd decided to fancy. She wanted him to stay. She didn't care if it was selfish. She wanted to freeze time, and just live in some sort of time bubble of forever where Naru never needed to leave, and all of them could just solve cases and muck around.

Only a few ghosts…

She hoped they would keep coming with all they had.

* * *

A bird glided gently onto a branch. It was about to open its beak to sing when a hand closed around and crushed its weak body with a crunch. The song turned into a death squeak.

Carefully a claw dragged across its breast, neatly slitting it open. Blood dripped, staining the feathers a deep red.

It hated animals.

They were too damn small.

Humans were better.

They were bigger, for a start.

It sat in the tree, tossing the corpse down into a small clump of bushes metres below. It tasted the sweet taste of blood.

It didn't know its name.

That girl…

She would give him a name.

She had said she would.

It knew his gender, though.

It felt male. There was a sort of maleness that it felt, so it at least knew that. Its fists clenched.

It wanted a name. It wanted that girl. Mai.

But he… that boy… he'd stopped him. It'd been so close to getting her, too, but she'd been stopped. And the boy hadn't wanted her to give him his name.

That boy was dangerous.

He needed to be removed. He almost had been as well, but the first time he'd escaped, and the second time Mai had saved him.

He hadn't been expecting that. No-one had ever escaped before. And he'd thought that his body would be found long after it'd gone stone cold.

But never mind. There were more pressing matters now. He could pass the boy over for Mai, for now.

And no-one was going to stop him getting her now. Not now.

* * *

**ARGH Naru is SUCH an Enlgish guy. It's sooo annoying! So typical...**

**And Mai shouldn't worry. They will ^^ (come at them with all they've got, I meant)**

**I know humans are animals too, but please, humour us here. **

**Still annoyed with Naru. Even though we wrote it. :|**

**Please please please review! Thanks XD**


	15. Chapter 15

Morbid, Part 15

To her own surprise Mai was not crying. Instead she sat on the floor with her arms curled around her knees. She felt like… she didn't know what to compare it to. It was a seriously intensified version of the pang she usually felt when around Naru, but with all the hope removed from it and replaced with the knowledge that he loved someone else.

She had known his would happen. As if Naru would ever fall for someone like her. He wanted someone who was cool and collected, rather than someone who embarrassed him by doing something clumsy every other moment or putting him in danger.

She had finally settled on her feelings. It felt like someone had scooped out her insides.

Her head snapped up. "Hello?" She called uncertainly, and immediately regretted it. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. They'd only try to make her feel better by spouting some rubbish about Naru. She didn't know why they continued. Maybe she should just break the news to them so they could leave her in peace.

She knew she could never do it.

She pulled her knees closer to her body and leant her head on them. Her throat felt dry and sore. It wasn't like in films where women could cry for hours on end and not get any after effects. But she wasn't going to get up and find something to drink. She might run into someone, and she didn't want their pity.

There it was again. The first time she'd thought she'd imagined it, but there definitely was something. She stood up slowly. To tell the truth, she was a bit annoyed. She didn't want to be interrupted.

It sounded like soft breathing on the other side of the door. Her heart immediately soared. Naru? But then she realised there was no way it was him. He didn't know where she was, she'd said she was going to the bathroom.

It hit her. No one knew where she was. Oops. Well, she couldn't be pouring her heart out onto her pillow while people were around her. Yet again she'd put her feelings before her safety. Naru would have already told her off, if he was here.

She moved forwards. Shivers crawled up her arms. She glanced down, her hair was standing on end.

She knew what was on the other side of the door. Somehow, she knew what would happen to her. There was a pause in the thoughts in her brain. And she knew what she had to do. She couldn't keep running. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the handle.

* * *

Naru sat down in his chair in base. The battered remains of the file seemed to stare back at him with an impassive look. He sighed. Time to get back to work.

The others (well, except for Lin and Masako) was still mucking around with Mai's note, until the piece of paper was almost completely filled with scribbles.

"Oooh! Write, 'she has brown eyes'…" Ayako said. Masako eyed the note with disdain and sniffed haughtily.

"And brown hair…" Yasuhara added. Monk was writing furiously.

"Hang on! I'm still writing about her height…"

"Hurry up!"

"She lives in Tokyo! Don't forget to put that."

Not surprisingly, Naru ignored them. He frowned. Why had Noboru ripped out some pages from the file? It didn't make sense. From what Naru had seen, he didn't have enough intelligence to be that far sighted. To create confusion maybe? And where were the pages? It annoyed him. His file had once been perfect, full of relevant information, and none of the pages ripped. Now it was a mess, the pages creased and crumpled and four pages were missing. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. Why couldn't something go right for once?

"Hmmm… speaking of Mai, shouldn't she be back by now?" Yasuhara suddenly asked. There was a silence so silent you could hear spiders crawling underneath the floorboards.

"Oh god… You don't think…" Ayako started, but never finished.

"Is she on any of the monitors?" Monk asked Lin, praying silently that Mai was fine. Lin quickly scanned them.

"No."

"Shit." Naru swore. What if something had happened to her?

As if answering to some silent command, everyone got up and ran to the nearest bathroom. Naru slowly opened the door, fearing that inside would lay a mutilated corpse. It was empty, thankfully or unthankfully.

"Where is she?"

"We'll split into groups, Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san, go check the girl's room. She could be there. The rest of you, go check… anywhere. We need to locate her as soon as possible." The others nodded and set off. Naru felt sick, but kept his face carefully calm. He himself was rushing from room to room in a frenzy he normally associated with the rest of his colleagues and not himself.

Mai wasn't in the girl's room.

Mai wasn't in the kitchen either.

In fact, Mai wasn't in the house.

* * *

**Dun dun dun (dramatic music).**

**Oh yeah, I forgot to say, we hit the 100 review mark! (jumps up and down with joy) Thanks to everyone who reviewed!**

**You know reviews make us write faster, right? *hint hint nudge nudge wink wink know what I mean?***


	16. Chapter 16

Morbid, Part 16

"She's not in the house." Monk said in conclusion.

"You and I both know exactly where she is." Naru said coldly. Monk sighed in defeat. Everyone knew, but no one wanted to say it because then it would be undeniably true, as though that would change anything. A weary look came into his eyes.

"How do we get there?" He asked determinedly. No matter how dangerous the ghost was, he was still going to fight it if it laid a finger on Mai. Monk was definitely a fighter.

"I don't remember." Naru snapped.

"Nothing at all?"

"I remember patches. But to be honest one patch of forest looks much the same as another to me. Not to mention I wasn't thinking clearly at the time." He spoke quickly and sharply.

"There must have been something. A… an unusually shaped rock… or anything?" Monk said desperately.

"Nothing. I already said I don't remember the way!"

"Bou-san!" Ayako snapped. "Leave him alone. He doesn't remember, okay? Now maybe we should do something, instead of standing around chatting." She glared at both of them. "Now, are you coming or what?" She flicked her hair over her shoulder with a huff and stalked through the fringe of the forest. The others hurried behind her.

"I swear we're going round in circles." Yasuhara finally said, after what felt like hours.

"That's highly probable." Naru said. He wished he'd gone after Mai earlier in the corridor. Then she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. The light was diminishing far too quickly and Naru wanted to find her before it got too dark.

"It's going to be dark soon." Monk said.

"And?" Naru snapped. He was in a really, really bad mood.

"Well… It's just that it'll be hard to find her once it's dark. We need to sleep and eat. Getting lost won't help anyone."

"So, you're giving up." Naru said dully. He knew inside that Monk was right but he didn't want to admit it. He wanted to find her. It was his fault.

"I'm not _giving up_. I'm just stating the truth. We don't even know if we can exorcise this thing."

"The question is not whether he _can_ be exorcised, it's whether _we_ can exorcise him."

"You're saying we don't have the power to."

"How observant of you. That's exactly what I'm saying. We have enough power to protect ourselves, but not enough to actually exorcise him. We have to act fast. I don't think he wants to hurt Mai, but that doesn't mean he will. And if he turns into a demon, then our best course of action will probably be to leave with the family and let the house fall to pieces. That way, the number of deaths will be minimised."

"Can't we just set fire to it or something? Like what we did with Urado."

"He doesn't have the same limits Urado does. We'd have to set fire to half the mountain and it couldn't be controlled. We'd risk setting fire to the town, as well. However, he is not a full demon yet. That means he had all the disadvantages of both ghosts and demons, and very few of the advantages."

There was a silence following his words. The light had turned from gold to a sort of dim grey.

"Look!" John suddenly said, pointing.

"Is that the path?"

It was the path. Suddenly everyone felt a lot more optimistic and cheerful, or at least as cheerful you can be when someone you care for has been kidnapped by some kind of psychopathic, bloodthirsty thing.

They walked along the path, uneasy in the gloom and silence. At least the temperature had cooled down to a reasonable heat so it wasn't stuffy.

"Don't you remember anything?" Bou-san asked desperately.

"I already told you I don't."

"Bou-san, you're not helping." Ayako chided.

"Sorry." He slunk back next to Ayako.

"We probably found you around here." Lin said to Naru, who was scrutinising the landscape as if his life depended on it. Then he sighed and shook his head.

"I can't remember any of it."

They pressed on. The light grew dimmer and dimmer.

"Naru-bou, we've been walking for hours…"

"And?" He was getting more and more irritated by the minute. By the second, even.

"Just saying…" He grumbled under his breath.

"It's probably around here somewhere. The path didn't lead to it."

"So… you're saying we should leave the path. And risk getting lost?"

"Yes."

They trudged deeper into the undergrowth. Suddenly Naru started running. "It's near here!" The others started to follow. Suddenly he stopped and frowned. Muttering to himself he moved forwards uncertainly. Suddenly he shot off again, leaving the others behind.

* * *

Naru half skidded, half ran down the steep tunnel. It seemed to be forever when he finally reached the end and he hauled the trapdoor up and dropped down to the floor of the horribly familiar cave, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness. He spotted the prone form lying a few meters away. He ran to her, turning her over.

"Mai! Mai, wake up!"

She had a cut on her cheek but otherwise looked fine. Her eyelids fluttered.

"N-naru?"

He couldn't contain the sigh of relief. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head slowly, still slightly fuzzy from being woken up. "No I don't think so… although my cheek does sting slightly…"

"You've got a cut there but it's not bleeding."

"Naru, do we have to exorcise him?"

"What?"

"Can't we cleanse him?"

"No. Mai, he's killed far too many people. He can't be cleansed."

"It's not his fault…"

"That's irrelevant."

* * *

"Where's he gone now?" Monk huffed and puffed.

"I don't know. He can't stay still, can he?"

"Just because you're too slow to keep up…"

Ayako hit him on the head. Imagine her surprise (and everyone else's) when he stumbled into the rock face and instead of bouncing off it, he disappeared into it.

"What?"

"The rock just swallowed him up!"

Lin moved forward and prodded the vines Bou-san had disappeared into. They peeled back to reveal a small entrance to a cave.

"Takigawa-san?" He called cautiously.

"Owwwww…." Came the forlorn call from inside the rock. "I hit my head."

"Saved me from doing it." Ayako said cheerfully. Meanwhile Lin had stepped into the cave, almost bending double.

"I'm going to go take a look." Monk's voice floated out. Ayako sat down on a damp stone outside and waited. The others followed suit.

The cave was really just a long, narrow, low tunnel, which stretched some way into the damp rock face. Monk and Lin walked in single file, crouching uncomfortably. Eventually their eyes adjusted to the light, and Monk could see the tunnel's end a few paces ahead. He stopped. Which was lucky, as it stopped him from falling straight into the hole.

"That's it. It's a dead end." He said, disappointment lacing through his voice.

"…Bou-san?" Mai's confused voice asked. Monk jumped, earning himself another bruise. He scowled, forlornly rubbing his sore head.

"Mai?" He asked cautiously.

"Naru? Are you there?" Lin called.

"Yes," Was the short reply.

"Are you hurt?" Monk asked anxiously, working out that the voice was coming from under the floor. He bent down and gripped the edge of the hole.

It was so dark he could barely make out Mai and Naru, but they were slightly darker patches of black. He couldn't tell which was which.

"No… I have a scratch, but that's it."

"Okay. Do you need help getting out?" The hole wasn't that deep, but Mai was quite small.

"Um, I think so." Monk stretched out his hand. Their fingers weren't anywhere near touching. "Uh, Naru… could you give me leg up?"

* * *

Naru tapped his foot impatiently. He watched as Mai staggered under the combined weight of Ayako, Monk and Yasuhara's hugs. He was about to point out that a) it was getting seriously dark, b) that it was going to get cold soon and Mai wasn't wearing that much, and c) there had been no point in going into the woods if they were going to kill Mai themselves. But he knew that nothing would stop them fawning over her and making sure for the hundredth time that she really was okay.

But seriously, they could hurry up about it.

Naru glanced at his watch, but it was too dark to make out the time. Yasuhara noticed and coughed slightly, before nudging his companions, who soon fell silent. A relieved Mai dusted herself down.

They headed back towards the house. Almost as soon as they set of the sun sank below the horizon, leaving them in complete darkness. Shall we say this hindered their progress somewhat? Okay, quite a lot, what with the scraping, bumping, complaining, yelpings, stumbling, tripping and general noisy chaos.

"Ow! Watch where you're going woman!" Monk cried for the fifth time as Ayako walked into him for the fifth time.

"Sorry."

"That was my foot, Yasuhara." John's reproachful voice came from the front of their strange procession.

Naru scowled. At this rate they would never make it back before morning. They may as well stay here for the night, were it not for the ghost they had left behind in the cave. Except… they hadn't really, had they? And if that were the case, then where was he?

However his train of thoughts was broken when without warning a hand grabbed his arm. He lost his balance, and tripped over his feet. Before he knew it he was on the ground and rolling down some sort of slope. His legs were entangled with someone else's, and they landed ungracefully in a heap at the bottom.

He laughed bitterly in his mind that that was exactly what he had laughed at Mai for earlier, except that she hadn't taken someone else with her.

Someone was moving next to him. Well, it was kind of on top of and underneath him at the same time, which surely wasn't even possible. That's what it felt like, anyway. Someone groaned lightly, and prodded his side.

"Are you alright?" A feminine voice asked worriedly. He felt like groaning too. It would have to be Mai, wouldn't it?

"Fine." He said, trying to disentangle himself.

"I think I have a bruise." Mai noted dully, while poking her possible bruise.

"Could you investigate your possible injuries _after_ you've gotten off me?"

"Huh?" Her cheeks grew hot as she realised the position they were lying in. "Oh. Sorry." She got off him and he got up. Around them, the woods were completely silent, devoid of any sounds the others might be making as they attempted to find their way back.

"I think we've lost the others." Naru stated.

"But- You're right. I didn't mean to…"

"Never mind. We'll find our way back ourselves."

* * *

"Um… who's there?" Yasuhara called.

"I am." Called out a voice rather unhelpfully.

"John." Said John.

"Who's I?" Yasuhara asked, unnerved by the fact that he was seemingly with only two other people when he ought to be with seven other people.

"Ayako."

"We've lost the others, haven't we?" John worked it out.

"Or they've lost us. Stay still, John, Ayako." They all stood still. There was no other noise.

"Oh, just great." Ayako complained.

"Well, we'll probably all meet up at the house. So it's not so bad really."

They continued on, barley able to discern what were trees and what weren't. From somewhere to his right, Yasuhara heard a branch snap. He stopped, hoping to hear if it was someone else from their group.

Then something knocked into him and he was sent flying into a tree with a large crack of breaking bones. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

Naru stopped walking. He knew where they were. The clearing.

At some point while they had been walking, the stars and moon had slowly started to come out, and everything was cast in a sort of pale light that meant you could actually see obstacles in your way.

"We can't be far. Come on."

"I'm tir- Oh! We're at the clearing! It's so pretty."

Naru sighed at her sudden subject change.

"You've already seen it. We need to get back to the house. Everyone will meet up there."

"Can't we stop a few moments? I really like this place. Unlike you, I have a sense beauty."

Naru opened his mouth to argue that he _did_ have a sense of beauty, but then worked out that Mai would probably then ask him what he found beautiful. No way was he putting himself in an awkward position, so he closed his mouth again.

"Come on. Do a bit of stargazing. Or burning balls of gas gazing."

"Mai, we need to get back as soon as possible. And the stars aren't that interesting."

"We can stay a few minutes. Please? If we went back now we'd probably be the first ones back anyway." She made her way to the rock and sat down. "Can't you be romantic?"

He was about to argue that being romantic was a waste of time when something growled, and he saw the shape slinking closer to them. Noboru.

"Mai, get behind me." He said automatically.

"But Naru-"

"Just do it." He snapped.

"He didn't _mean_ to cut me, and you can't stand up to him! Please, Naru, you'll only get hurt." Mai argued, sidestepping in front of him.

"Mai." Naru growled, stepping in front of her. Mai protested, but he ignored it. If he ran away, Mai thought, I could cover for him. Noboru didn't want to hurt me, not really, and he'd only kill Naru. I could try to cleanse him or something.

"Mai, _you're_ the one he's after. You can't protect yourself."

"No, but Naru!"

Mai darted forward at the same time as Noboru pounced at Naru, both of them getting there at the same time. Then suddenly she was winded as something hit her stomach hard and she doubled over, trying to breath.

There was the sound of ripping flesh and the stream ran red with blood.

* * *

**Oh dear. We appear to have *cough* accidentaly *cough* left the story at another cliff hanger. Wonder how that happened...**

**Ha, Mai got her wish... just not quite how she'd like it. That is, to be in the clearing with Naru. And he's definitely not being romantic.**

**My friend started reading this story recently and she thought it was ridiculous the amount of tea Naru drank. She kept saying, "And he's drinking tea! Again! And again!".**

**According to her, Morbid is more like an advert for tea than an actaul story.**

**(She also thought Lin was a girl when she first read it (she hasn't read/watched Ghost Hunt))**

**I was teasing her by telling her the very last sentence, and our biology teacher walked past at the moment so all she probably heard was '... and the stream ran red with blood'. She gave us really odd looks.**

**Again, please review!**


	17. Chapter 17

Morbid, Part 17

Lin cursed his bad luck as he fumbled in the undergrowth. His charge had gone missing _yet again._ Something he was prone to doing since Mai had walked, well tripped, right into their lives. And it was starting to annoy Lin just a teensy bit.

Let's face it, they were in one of the worst positions they'd ever been in. They didn't know where they were, it was so dark he could only see the vague shape of Monk next to him, and Masako was a dark blob to his left, they were all separated, tired, cold and hungry. No, things were not going well. Oh, and had he mentioned that in this difficult time Naru had managed to wander off? Lin just hoped he was with John, Yasuhara, Ayako and Mai, wherever they were, but his instinct told him he should be so lucky.

As per usual Naru was probably wherever Mai was, and seeing as she was the most accident prone person he'd ever met, that somewhere probably wasn't the best place to be. Not to mention the ghost was after… oh yeah! Mai and Naru. Lin scowled. It was practically a miracle one of them hadn't died yet.

Lin was _not_ a happy bunny.

Oh, he knew where Naru was roughly. He had sent a shiki to keep an eye on him. Not that it was much help if anything actually happened. He was trying to roughly go in that direction, but several things were stopping him, the trees and the darkness being the biggest obstacles. Then he stopped suddenly, and Bou-san stumbled into his back.

"Ow! Lin?"

"My shiki returned. I sent it to Naru." His voice held traces of worry.

"And that means…"

"He's encountered the ghost."

"Ah."

That was bad. Naru wasn't able to protect himself, and if he did something rash then they wouldn't be able to get him to a hospital.

* * *

Naru kicked out and tried to stop the claws which threatened to tear his skin apart. Noboru was fighting to kill and Naru knew he wouldn't be a match to him, the adrenaline pumping through his blood as he tried to get free of Noboru. He lashed out with an angry blast of PK but it missed and hit a tree instead. His eyes widened as the tree started to fall towards them, and he knew that if he didn't get out the way he'd be crushed to death.

Just then a shiki winded its way around them and lunged at Noboru, and Noboru paused as he started to try and fight back, letting Naru rip his arms out of Noboru's grip and roll out of the way. Noboru managed to hit the shiki and knock it away, presumably back to Lin. Only then did he see the tree, but it was too late and it landed on him with a crunch.

Naru lay there for a few moments, panting heavily, before using his shaking arms to hoist himself up into a sitting position. He surveyed his handiwork for a few moments, then satisfied that Noboru wasn't going to be going anywhere for a while, looked round for Mai.

She was staring at him. His eyes widened as he took in her appearance. "Are you okay?" He asked, although he knew it was a bit of a stupid question.

"I'm fine; I'm more worried about you." She'd run over to him with the aim of making sure he wouldn't collapse from the effort of knocking over a tree.

Then she saw where Naru was staring. Her stomach. She looked down.

The bottom of her t-shirt was stained bright red with her blood, and she shivered as a droplet slid down, only to sink into her skirt.

"I-I…" When had that happened? She remembered something winding her, that must have been it.

He gently lifted up her t-shirt to reveal a long, bleeding cut on her belly. She was too shocked at the sight of it and how much it was bleeding to blush.

He eyed it critically for a few moments. "It's not deep. You'll be okay." He lowered her t-shirt again. There wasn't much he could do, it wasn't like there were any handy bandages and he was tired.

"Are you okay?" She sat down beside him, relieved that she hadn't suffered from anything serious, just a scratch that bled a lot. He was suffering from cuts too, and he'd just knocked over a tree, which was no small feat.

"I'm fine." He paused. "We need to find the others. Preferably before he wakes up."

"I never knew you could knock out a ghost."

"He's not a ghost. I don't know _what_ to call him, but ghost isn't the word."

"How do we get rid of him then?"

"I plan on burning him." He said calmly.

There was pause as she processed his words.

"You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because it's just cruel!"

"Mai, he's killed people just because he enjoys it. He almost killed _me_. He needs to be exorcised, and by fire would be the best means. Unless you can come up with better idea?" He knew she couldn't, and she knew it too.

"It's still horrible! He'd be burnt alive!"

"So, his safety is more important to you than everybody else's safety."

"No, but being burnt to death will be so painful and horrible… no-one deserves that."

"No-one deserves being taken against their will, and cut up so you bleed to death."

"He tried to bleed you to death?"

"Tried. I think he toys with his victims before killing them."

"If we burn him we'll set fire to the woods, and the house, and possibly the town too."

"That's why we need Matsuzaki-san. She can bind him and we'll burn him on the rock so there's no risk of the fire spreading."

Mai sighed. She didn't want Noboru to burn. It was such a horrible death, and he was like a small child, lost and confused. But she knew Naru was right. Not that that was going to stop her from giving in that easily. She needed to know Naru was completely sure about this, and she knew the perfect way to do this was to challenge him. And if he showed the smallest wavering of doubt, well then she'd… probably have to go down on her knees to beg him to stop, but she would do it.

She was trying to mentally find the faults in Naru's logic when she suddenly realised just how close they were. She could feel the heat from his skin, and she was sure he must have been able to feel her heat, her skin felt like it was burning up. It felt like there was some new force between them that couldn't have been gravity, pulling them closer. He leant closer to her slowly and she did the same subconsciously, head tilted up slightly to meet his gaze…

"Oliver!" They snapped apart, both trying (and failing) to look nonchalant like they hadn't been doing anything. It was slightly ruined by Mai's most magnificent blush yet and even Naru looked a bit uncomfortable. They turned to see Lin running out from the trees, followed by Monk and Masako.

"Lin."

He stopped, panting slightly from the distance, in front of them. He took in the fallen tree and the blood on both of the teens. "What happened?" He demanded, glad that at least no-one had died… yet.

"Noboru attacked us. Do you know where Matsuzaki-san is?"

"No. Are you alright?"

"We'll live."

Meanwhile, Monk had hugged Mai, carefully avoiding her stomach after reassurance from her that it wasn't life threatening or serious in any way.

"We were so worried! When Lin told us that you'd encountered the ghost- Where is he?"

"Underneath that tree." She said, pointing.

"He- what? How did that happen?"

"Um, I think Naru used his PK." She said quietly.

"You didn't." Lin warned Naru, who gazed defiantly back.

"I did. It was either him or me. I don't actually want to die, you know."

"Naru, you know fully well if something happens we won't be able to get you to hospital."

"There'd be no point in getting me to a hospital if I'm dead." Naru snarled. "We need to find Matsuzaki-san as soon as possible. We need to get Noboru bound so he can't move _before_ he wakes up."

"We don't know where the others are. We didn't see them on the way here."

Naru frowned. "Bou-san, go back to the house and see if they're there. Bring back a torch, rope , matches and a first aid kit."

He nodded and ran off in the direction of the house.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Lin said.

"I do. I'm going to burn Noboru."

Lin watched his charge's face for a few moments. He could see the exhaustion setting in, but it was obvious that he was thinking clearly. He sighed. "Fine."

"Lin!" Mai cried, upset that Lin had seemingly no objections to burning Noboru alive.

"What?" He asked.

"We can't! Please! I know he's killed people and all, but isn't being burnt alive too harsh?"

"Mai, leave it." Naru growled. He, personally, had no sympathy for Noboru. He'd been killed by Noboru and only survived because Mai had happened to be talking to Gene at that moment. Lin obviously had similar feeling to Naru.

"It's the only way." Lin said, his voice bordering on apologetic. "If there was another way we would do it, but there isn't."

Mai fell silent. Why did they have to be so right? It wasn't fair.

There was a crack of wood breaking and all of three of them turned towards the tree. Noboru stretched and the tree trunk snapped into two. He stood up shakily, eyeing Mai, Naru and Lin with eyes full of anger and hate.

Oh, crap.

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit short, but it was that or you have to wait a while longer. And we're still trying to work out what will happen next. We have a rough plan, but...**

**Stupid Lin. Interupting Naru and Mai about to kiss. XD Part of me doesn't want to get them together, and just let the tensions run a while longer... but...**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed ^_^**

**Please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

Morbid, Part 18

Ayako ran as fast as she could, trying to dodge the trees and branches. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the house loomed into view. She ran to the door and was about to bang on it when-

"Ayako!" She turned, to see Monk and Masako running towards her.

"Houshou!" She cried out. "It's Yasuhara – he's broken some bones-"

"Not now. Naru needs you. They were attacked by Noboru."

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine… but Noboru is trapped under a tree. He wants you to bind him."

"Oh… okay. I've left John with Yasu." She fumbled with the spare key.

"Where are you going?"

"To get my torch."

* * *

Mai stumbled backwards, both Lin and Naru moving in front of her protectively. Noboru slowly, shakily stood up. He looked around.

"He must have hit his head pretty hard." Naru murmured. Noboru seemed to focus on the noise, but didn't move and just stood there. Mai peered over Naru's shoulder as Noboru staggered forwards.

"Oh… he's dazed." Mai breathed. Noboru's head snapped up.

"Interesting." Lin muttered.

"We need to take advantage of this. We should keep away from him and try to gain as much time as possible."

"Hai." Mai nodded while Lin showed no sign of having heard or registered anything Naru had said. But it was Lin. He immediately walked off to the other side of the clearing.

"Hey, Noboru!" He said calmly, staring at the almost-demon. Noboru immediately lurched round to focus on the noise.

Naru roughly pushed Mai in the other direction. "Go." He ordered. Mai nodded and skirted round the snarling form of Noboru towards the direction they had come from. Naru backed away slowly. It was tensely silent.

The sound of a twig snapping sounded incredibly loud in the silence.

"Sorry!" Mai called.

"Try not to make too much noise!" Naru called, noticing that Noboru had turned again to face Mai.

"I will!" Noboru was staggering forwards so that he looked almost drunk. She hadn't even noticed in the dark. Naru's eyes narrowed. He slowly bent down, his hands searching until his fingers closed around a stone. He picked it up and launched it at Noboru. It bounced of his head, and he turned towards the rough direction the stone had come from, eyes trying to find his assailant.

"Naru! That was nasty." Mai complained. Naru rolled his eyes. Noboru turned back to face Mai again, and slowly advanced forward. However, Mai couldn't see him because of the feeble light and where she was.

"Mai! Whatever you do, don't make a sound! Try and move silently!" He called.

"What?"

"Mai, just shut up! Move to your left or right, I don't care which, but don't make a sound!"

She understood and started to slowly move, trying to be as silent as possible, but by then Noboru knew where she was and was almost there. Naru acted without thinking, and flung himself at Noboru, landing on his back, successfully distracting Noboru, who stumbled backwards, arms failing. Unfortunately, one of his arms happened to knock into Mai, who was knocked out of the way and hit her head on a rock with a sharp crack. Noboru flung Naru off him, who landed and rolled before getting up. Before Noboru could advance further Lin whistled sharply and the bright lights honed in on the almost-demon.

There was the sound of footsteps and everyone turned, to see Ayako, Bou-san and Masako run into the clearing.

"Bind him! Quickly!" Naru growled. Lin's shiki swirled around Noboru, occasionally attacking. Ayako raised her hands.

"Rin pyou sha kai djin retsu zai zen!" Ayako cried. Noboru froze. Everyone sighed with relief.

"Mai!" Ayako ran to her fallen body and lifted her head. She was unconscious, and a wound on the side of her head was bleeding. She checked for a pulse, relieved when she saw that she seemed to be okay.

"We need to move Noboru." Naru stated. "Bou-san, did you get matches?"

"Er, yeah." He fumbled in his pocket and brought them out, tossing them to Naru, who caught them neatly.

With some difficulty they managed to move Noboru onto the rock.

"Are you sure it'll hold?" Naru asked Ayako. "If it doesn't, all of us will probably die."

"It should."

He nodded and struck a match. Everyone automatically took a few steps back. He threw the match, and it burnt on the rock for a few moments before catching onto Noboru. The fire spread quickly.

Unnoticed, Naru stepped away from the group and the blaze. He walked over to where Mai was and sat down next to her.

Mai could feel someone brushing away hair from her face, but her eyelids were heavy and she couldn't open them.

"Mai." He said quietly. No response. He sighed, she must have hit her head pretty badly. He could already feel the usual numbness starting in his fingers and feet – a sure sign that his PK was catching up with him and he would also be unconscious soon.

He sat still for a while before reaching for her limp hand and absentmindedly counting the pulse. It was strong and regular, which meant that apart from her head bleeding she was fine. He looked at the fire. At least Mai was unable to watch it, or try to stop it and do something stupid that would get her hurt like she usually did. The firelight looked oddly bright and hazy. How long did he have left? How much PK had he inadvertently used?

He didn't know. But it was starting to take its toll scarily quickly. He hoped that was because the adrenaline had delayed the affects rather than he had used a large dose. If it was the latter… he wondered briefly if it was enough for him to die, but quickly pushed the thought out of his mind.

But what if it was…?

He mentally shook himself. Of course there was always the possibility that he would die, but he knew he wouldn't. Or rather he really really really hoped he wouldn't. He tried to focus on the fire but his vision was starting to go. He knew it wasn't long now. He lay down on the dry grass in an effort to reduce the amount of energy he was using.

If he wasn't going to make it he would have stopped breathing by now, right? But how could he be sure? He could feel himself start to panic. A couple of years ago he wouldn't have been so freaked out by the idea but now… there were so many things he wanted to do.

He felt Mai's hand slip from his own numb one and his thoughts turned to the girl next to him. Suddenly it clicked. He knew what he had to do. But it would be difficult, even if she was unconscious and unaware of everything around her, including him. He wasn't used to saying his feelings after damming them up inside him for a couple of years.

"Mai?" He breathed, just to make sure. Nothing. He took a deep breath.

Then he smiled. "I have to admit… Gene was right. And I was wrong." He laughed at himself mentally. Then he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. Where to start…

He couldn't feel his legs. And he still hadn't said anything. And if he didn't soon he wouldn't ever get this chance again. No one could hear him, so what was stopping him?

"I l-love you Mai." He stammered uncertainly, checking for a reaction that he could see. He released his subconsciously held breath when there was nothing. His vision was blurred and his entire body felt numb, he could barely gather the strength to keep his eyes open, let alone say anything else…

* * *

**Sorry it's a bit short, but it was that or this would be the last chapter *tears up*  
**

**I got the binding spell of episode 24. I'm still annoyed at Funimation for taking down all the episodes except for the first 5. I mean, I commented on one of the episodes and it was the highest or second highest rated comment and I was so proud of it :( **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed :)**

**Please review!\(^o^)/**


	19. Chapter 19

Morbid, Part 19

The nurse finished her various tests with a warm smile.

"Well, that's it Taniyama-san. You are free to go." She patted Mai's knee in a motherly way. Mai smiled back. The hospital had insisted that she stay the night, well what remained of it, and she had been tested for concussion, brain haemorrhage and who knew what else the following morning. She stood up, said goodbye and then suddenly turned back to the friendly nurse.

"Yes dear?" The friendly nurse asked.

"Well, I was wondering about my companion…?"

"Um, Shibuya-san, yes?"

"Yup. Er, could I see him?"

The nurse twisted her face. "Well, we're not supposed to let people see patients immediately, except if they're relatives… or close friends." She tacked on as an afterthought. Mai put on her angel face.

"Please? I am his girlfriend." She lied quickly. Having lived on her own for several years she had learnt when to tell a little white lie. Or in this case quite a big lie from her point of view, despite being tiny in the great scheme of things. The nurse apparently took pity on her and nodded slowly.

"Thank you." Mai smiled gratefully. "Um, which room is he in…?"

The nurse was luckily also in charge of Naru. "285." She said promptly.

"Thank you." Mai left the room and walked down the corridor a little way to where she had noticed a large floor plan tacked onto an ex-notice board. She studied it absorbedly before purposefully walking towards the nearest stairwell.

15 minutes later she was standing outside a plain door. She knocked, and then slowly entered. Naru was lying sleeping in bed looking rather worse for wear. Apart from several cuts and bruises, his usually pale skin looked even whiter than normal and his breathing was shallow and rapid.

"Not looking as good as usual." She commented wryly before plopping herself into the chair conveniently placed next to the bed. Naru didn't respond, unsurprisingly, so she was left to stare into space and think over her dream.

Gene had turned up in it, and before she had even managed to become orientated or say 'hello' he had started apologising profusely, occasionally cursing his idiot of a twin. As far as Mai could make out, the gist of it was that he was sorry for making her unhappy because he had told her that Naru was in love, but he had been trying to get Naru to see that as she was so upset she clearly loved Naru. And also to get him to hurry the hell up.

Not to mention that he was also apologising on behalf of his brother for said brother confessing, typically, to her when she was unconscious. It was then that his eyes widened as he realised what he'd said.

Mai on her part was silent. She could vaguely remember orange light, the cold grass under her back and Naru's voice. But she thought that had been a dream… Then again, if it had been a dream, her subconscious could have made Naru a _bit_ more romantic. A pretty setting would have been nice too.

"Er, could you pretend I never said that?" Gene had asked, worry written all over his face. Presumably worry for the consequences of his meddling again, Mai hoped.

Mai had replied by saying that she thought it had been a dream. Gene had looked thoughtful.

"Er, you remember that?" He had asked, surprised.

"Yes, but not very well. I must have woken up or something." She had explained.

The fact that Naru reciprocated her feelings had not quite been absorbed until she had woken up. She was still getting over the shock.

A problem had arisen though. How was she going to tell him that she knew? She could leave the telling off he deserved for not telling her 1) earlier and 2) to her face when she was actually awake for later.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" She asked his prone body.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but only relatives are allowed to see Shibuya-san at the moment."

"But I thought you said he was sleeping?" Monk asked the receptionist.

"Yes."

"So then can't we just at least have a peak? Just to make sure he's alright?"

"I'm sorry, hospital procedure."

Monk sighed in defeat. "In that case, can we see Taniyama Mai? Please?"

"Taniyama-san was signed out earlier today by the nurse."

"Well, where is she then?" Monk demanded, liking the cool receptionist less and less with every passing minute.

"Um… she did say something about that…" The receptionist said thoughtfully, losing her mask of professionalism for a moment. Monk refrained from drumming his fingers on the counter top.

"Oh! I remember now. She's with her boyfriend… whathisname… Shibuya-san!" She finished proudly. Silence reverberated through the motley group in front of the desk.

"Pardon?" Ayako said in sheer disbelief, while Monk realised that his jaw was wide open and it wasn't the most attractive look he'd ever tried.

"She's with Shibuya-san, innnn… (she typed hurriedly in the computer) room 285." She surveyed the shocked faces of SPR. "You did mean Taniyama Mai, yes?"

"Yes, yes. Uh, thank you." Ayako said, pulling Monk away from the reception desk.

"Since when was Mai Naru's girlfriend?" Yasuhara tapped thoughtfully on his newly acquired cast.

"I don't know, but it's great! I wish she'd actually told us though." Monk grinned.

"It might be fairly recent." Ayako pointed out.

"But even so. I am like her foster brother." Monk said unhappily.

"That doesn't necessarily mean she has to tell you everything straight away." Ayako pointed out, but she was just as disappointed as he was, she just wasn't showing it. Suddenly Yasuhara stopped tapping and started laughing gleefully. The other two rounded on him.

"What, exactly, are you laughing at?"

"Nothing." But he was still grinning. Monk and Ayako got the distinct impression that the joke was on them.

* * *

Mai was happily unaware of her colleagues' discovery. She was still wrestling with her problem. She guessed that attacking with a kiss as soon as he got up, though the most direct way, may also come as a bit of a shock. And shock was probably not that good for him at the moment.

Her musings were interrupted though when the door opened.

"Good morning, Lin-san!" Mai said cheerfully.

"Morning, Taniyama-san." He nodded before moving forwards to survey Naru. "The others are in the corridor." He said, searching her face. Mai swore she could see a hint of laughter shining in his eyes, though what for she couldn't guess. She was dressed normally, her hair wasn't a mess…

Worried slightly, she got up and entered the corridor. She was immediately set upon by Ayako and Monk.

"Mai, why didn't you tell us?" The latter almost wailed. Mai stared at him confusedly.

"Tell you what?" She asked cautiously. She looked around, but it didn't help her much. Yasuhara was sniggering behind his free hand, John smiled at her sympathetically, while Masako was refusing to acknowledge her presence, though this wasn't exactly new, and glaring at the wall as though it had personally affronted her. If looks could kill the wall would have crumbled into clay dust a while ago.

"About you and Naru!"

"…What?" She frowned.

"That you're, you know, together?"

"Together?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Yeah, that you two are going out?"

Mai's brain caught up. "Ohh. We're not, I only told that to the nurse so I could get in. What, are you disappointed?" She added, seeing his look.

"No!" He said too quickly.

"How did you get here?" She asked the group accusingly. "Did you tell the nurse that you're all family?"

"Nah, we asked her where you were and she said with Naru in this room so we sneaked here. Though Lin gets to visit him as his guardian." Monk explained.

"How is he anyway?" John changed the subject.

"Sleeping still. And he looks a bit battered." A worried look crossed Mai's face.

"So would anyone after all that." Ayako commented dryly.

"He'll be fine though." John smiled reassuringly.

"Naru always pulls through." Monk pointed out, tapping his chin. "Then again he did get roughed up quite a lot this ti-" He was silenced momentarily by a well aimed elbow to the side from Ayako.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry Mai-chan." Monk corrected himself, eyeing the redhead wearily. Well, specifically her rather sharp elbow.

* * *

Mai sighed. Everything seemed to be back to normal. They had returned to the office as soon as was possible after Naru had woken up. Of course they had tried to get him to stay at the hospital but once Naru has made up his mind it's hard to dissuade him, even with the threat of Madoka and Luella.

Mai chewed the end of her biro thoughtfully. To a bystander it looked as though she were concentrating on a particularly difficult problem in her chemistry homework. In reality though the direction of her thoughts were not school related, and the difficult problem she was trying to solve was boss related.

He was acting completely normal! And it was annoying Mai no end. There was no indication that he meant what he had confessed. She would have lost faith by now, if it weren't for Gene frequently turning up and ranting bitterly about his 'idiotic, stupid, slow, useless, pathetic, stupid' twin.

Mai's teeth jarred as they hit plastic. Annoyed now she made a face before putting her biro down in the desk rather loudly. You know what? She would show him that she knew. She would just walk straight in and tell him to his face, just like he should have done.

She stood up swiftly and strode purposefully to the getting-scarier-looking-office-door-as-she-got-closer. She paused just before it, staring at the grains in the wood. All her impulsiveness had disappeared, and she was left with a worrying fear and a distinct lack of ideas for what to say. She hovered nervously.

"What are you doing?"

Mai spun to look guiltily at the person who had just entered the office. Ayako was giving her a weird look.

"Uh, nothing." Technically not a lie.

"You've been standing in front of that door for about 5 minutes." Ayako raised a singular perfect eyebrow.

"Yeah…" Mai managed.

"So? What are you doing?" She asked again.

Mai ran back to the sofas and sat down next to Ayako. And explained. She told her how at one point during Noboru burning she'd woken up and heard Naru admitting he loved her, and how she'd been trying to tell him that she knew ever since she'd fully absorbed the fact that he loved her, and how he was not acting on his confession which was making her lose faith except for Gene and that she'd been about to confront him just now but then she'd got scared.

Ayako remained silent for a few moments after Mai's quiet speech (because she didn't want the other two occupants of the office eavesdropping).

"You've got to tell him." She said eventually.

"I know, but I keep getting scared…"

"You have to show him!"

"I have to show him."

"You have to make the move!"

"I have to make the move."

"Okay now, go in there and tell him!" She crowed, standing up and shoving Mai in the direction of Naru's office.

"I have to- what?"

"And you're not coming out until you sort this out!" Was the last thing Ayako said before opening the office door and shoving her in. Mai heard the door slam behind her with a final tone, and she was fairly sure Ayako was on the other side to make sure she wouldn't come out again. Mai swallowed.

"Mai?" Naru tapped his foot, waiting for an explanation as to why his privacy/work had been so forcefully and unexpectedly interrupted. Mai's mouth went dry. How to begin, how to begin…

"I, er, um… You know when- never mind."

She was about to pound on the door in a desperate plea for Ayako to open the door when Naru stopped her.

"What is it Mai?"

She turned again to face him. She couldn't tell him! It was like telling a hungry lion that you were very tasty!

"Mai, what is it?" He asked again, slightly more forcefully. She licked her lips nervously.

"Well, um, you know when you burnt Noboru… what, er, happened?"She asked.

Naru raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise. She'd been thrown into/entered his office because she wanted to hear what happened when they burnt Noboru? There must be something else that she was trying to get at.

"He was burnt. Is that all?"

"No! I mean, um, what did you do?"

"What did _I_ do? I watch him burn. Until I fell unconscious. Why?" He lied swiftly and easily.

"No, but, um, well, you know I was knocked unconscious…"

"Yes. Get to the point."

"Well, I woke up at one point."

He froze. What if she'd heard him? No, that wasn't possible. He was sure she'd been unconscious. He'd checked her face after he said it, there had been no expression change.

Mai watched him nervously. His face didn't betray anything, but he was looking at the page a lot more intensely then before. Outside the door Ayako refrained from giving them a 'helping hand'. If it was her… well if it was her the whole situation wouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Well, er, that is, I woke up when you… I mean, um…" Mai, you're blathering, she chided herself.

"Mai, you're blathering." Naru frowned and suppressed a sigh.

"We make a great pair then, me the blathering idiot and you the genius who is so socially awkward you can't even tell a girl you love her to her face!" Mai shouted. Their eyes widened as they realised what she had said.

"So you've known all this time."

Mai didn't say anything.

"And you didn't do anything?"

"Says you. I was waiting for you." Mai said bitterly.

"You were waiting for me?"

"I've been waiting for about 2 years."

"Oh."

Neither of them said anything for a while. When it became clear that Naru wasn't going to do anything, she moved back to the door to leave. She knew that it had been a hopeful and pointless exercise. He hadn't denied loving her; but he wasn't going to act on it at all.

"Wait." He mumbled, quickly standing up and grasping her hand. She turned quickly, finding herself face to face with his chest. It threw her off balance and his arm wrapped around her waist to stop her from falling. Due to their positioning and the fact that Naru wasn't relinquishing his hold on her (in a literal and metaphorical sense) Mai suddenly felt emboldened. She stretched out and nervously kissed him.

She drew back. Now that she had taken the big leap she may as well go the whole hog.

"I love you." She whispered. Well, she only got half way before Naru's lips found hers. His arm tightened, pulling her closer. He could feel her hands run through his hair to rest in a knot at his neck. The kiss was hesitant and gentle at first, but as both of them grew more and more confident the kiss became more heated. Finally they broke off.

"I guess we're both idiots." Mai smiled.

"You, maybe." Naru smiled lopsidedly when her face darkened. He quickly kissed her to prevent any damage.

On the other side of the door, Ayako, Bou-san, Yasuhara and Lin silently rejoiced.

* * *

**THE END **

***goes and crys in a corner* I hate finishing stories (except for one-shots for obvious reasons) and I have an annoying tendency to feel like crying. Okay, I know this is the second multi-chaptered story we've finished, but you all know what I mean. This chapter took ages because I didn't really want to finish it and OMFG I HATE WRITING KISSING SCENES. I'm such a NaruxMai fan, but I always feel really awkward when I write them. And all my knowledge of kissing romantically comes from fanfiction. I'm a (as I like to put it) a 'kiss-virgin'.  
**

**We've finished! *does dance of happiness* XD took a loooong time to write the last chapter, so frankly, I'm quite glad it's finished. Cass ain't so happy though. Can't see why...  
So yeah, now focusing on our (many) other stories. Bit stuck with Cursed, but we're in the middle and that's always the hardest bit :( Should be picking up again soon (hopefully). Anyway, adieux to our readers of Morbid, thanks for sticking with us! And thanks to all our reviewers especially! XD**

**In DT we were making wooden toys (at the moment my box has about 37452826 layers of paint 'cos I'm rubbish in DT so all I ever do is procrastinate which often involves painting** **excessively) and mine has a wooden ghost (it's meant to go up and down when you spin the handle on the box. Emphasis on the meant. I never attached it to the box). It's only a simple cartoon ghost, and after I painted the eyes and mouth I thought, "You know what would make this better? BLOOD." So I splattered red paint on him and named him Noboru.**

**I took Noboru to sports day as a good luck charm. I think he gave me more bad luck than good. Probably in revenge for having him burned alive in the last chapter.**

**Y'know, the last chaper was exactly 1,500 words according to Document Manager. I thought that was cool. And I'm nattering on...  
**


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